I'm On The Outside
by mistressofburden
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome have known each other for years and are best friends, but what happens as they age and realize that their feelings for each other are a little more than friendly?
1. Prolouge

**AN: I've had this posted on mediaminer for quite awhile under my pen name razorbladesinner, which is what I used to have on this site as well, but I recently changed it. I'm posting this as I get back into the swing of writing again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, if I did would I really be writing fan fiction?**

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_Age 6:_

A small figure could be seen hiding in the folds of fabric of a woman's skirt. The young Hanyou clung for dear life as his mother talked to the woman in front of her. It was the first day of school, and for most children it was a terrifying experience.

"Forgive Inuyasha; since he is a Hanyou, he gets teased a lot." He could hear his mother's soft voice telling the other woman.

The woman smiled reassuringly to her. "Don't worry; we have many Hanyou's and full-blooded Youkai in the class along with humans. As you know our school is one of the few that gladly accepts them."

Inuyasha was comforted by the woman's voice and peeked out from behind his mother's legs once more. "Inuyasha, this is Miss. Makoto, she'll be your teacher." His mother said soothingly.

Inuyasha shyly stepped out from behind his mother and Miss. Makoto had too keep herself from cooing at the sight of his little ears perched at the top of his head. "What kind of Hanyou is he?"

"His father was a dog-Youkai." Inuyasha's mother told the teacher with a smile. "Just don't let the children tug on his ears; I'm afraid it makes him a little irritable."

Miss. Makoto chuckled and nodded, holding out her hand to Inuyasha. The small Hanyou looked up at his mother, who nodded to him reassuringly. Inuyasha shyly took Miss. Makoto's hand and with a wave from his mother was led into the classroom.

He could feel the eyes of the children turn to stare at him. He was starting a few days later then the rest of them simply because he had refused to leave the house. Some of the boys glared at him while a lot of the girls cooed over the small triangular ears at the top of his head. He looked around nervously as Miss. Makoto introduced him. He found a pair of kind brown eyes staring at him a large, happy smile on the owner's lips.

The girl seemed interested in him, but it wasn't the same as the others. "Inuyasha, you can go sit with Kagome."

Inuyasha realized that the girl that Miss. Makoto was speaking about was the girl with the brown eyes. He went and sat beside her silently, ignoring the stares of the other students. Miss. Makoto turned away from the students to begin the lesson and Inuyasha felt a gentle poke in his ribs. He turned and stared at Kagome, who was still smiling at him.

"Hi." She whispered to him. "I'm Kagome; it's nice to meet you Inuyasha."

Inuyasha could feel his cheeks turning pink. "Nice to meet you too Kagome." He whispered back.

Kagome seemed satisfied with that and turned her attention back to the front of the room. A few hours later the bell rang, signalling that it was time for them to have a quick break. Kagome disappeared into the crowd, leaving a slightly disappointed Inuyasha behind.

He wandered outside and hung away from the large crowds. He spotted Kagome standing with a group of girls. She turned when one of her friend's whispered something and pointed at him. He saw her roll her eyes and she crossed the playground to talk to him.

"Hi!" She said happily as she stopped beside him. "You should come over and meet my other friends."

Inuyasha looked at the group of girls and shook his head. "No, that's okay."

"Oh come on Inuyasha, they're curious about you." Kagome said.

"Really?" He asked shyly.

Kagome nodded excitedly. "Come on!" She said, grabbing his hand, leading him over to them.

Normally little boys would have pulled their hand away and screamed something about girl cooties, but Inuyasha didn't want to ruin his chances of having a friend. As they got closer he knew that they were staring at his ears, which were nervously twitching at the top of his head. He glanced around at the other half and full Youkai and realized that none of them had ears like his. Their ears all appeared at least some what human.

"Sango, Yuka, Eri, Ayume, this is my new friend Inuyasha." Kagome said.

Inuyasha could feel himself beaming with pride as Kagome said the words "new friend". The girls smiled and said hello to him before bombarding him with a million questions at once. They were mostly about his heritage and what kind of powers he had, but eventually the topic turned to his ears.

"Are they real?" Sango asked, eyeing the small triangles.

Before Inuyasha could respond, Kagome reached up and touched one gently. "Yep they're real!"

Inuyasha stared at her in shock. He wasn't sure why, but the feeling of Kagome touching his ears was relaxing. Normally he would scream and hit the person who touched his ears, since he only allowed his mother to do that. He smiled contently, thinking that for once he could allow himself to have a human friend.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Inuyasha**

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__Age 7:_

Kagome was missing from school and Inuyasha stared longingly at the seat beside him. Once again they had ended up in the same class and were sat together. He and Kagome had been inseparable from the day he started school last year. He spent all of his free time with her, either at the shrine where she and her family lived or at his house.

In fact earlier in the summer her dad had gotten really sick and was in the hospital. She stayed at his house all the time back then. He was happier with her around, even though she was really quiet most of the time.

_Inuyasha sat on his bed staring out the window. There was rain pounding heavily against his window, which seemed fitting. Kagome's mom had just left after telling her that her father had died. She then asked Inuyasha's mother if it would be alright for Kagome to continue staying with them for a few more days while she got things arranged for the funeral._

_Inuyasha had sat outside Kagome's room listening to her sob as his mother tried to console the heartbroken girl. He had tried to go into her room but his mother only shooed him away. So he had gone to his room and sat on his bed._

_He turned away from the window when he heard his door open. Kagome stood in the doorway, her eyes swollen and red, her hair dishevelled. She walked over to his bed and hopped up onto it, resting her head against his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his waist._

_Inuyasha sighed in mock annoyance and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. "How are you feeling?"_

_Kagome sniffled and Inuyasha could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. "This is horrible!" She sobbed. "Is this how you felt when your dad died?"_

_Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't remember, I was just a baby."_

_Kagome sniffled again and tightened her grip on him, almost as if she was afraid that if she let go he would disappear. "You're my best friend Inuyasha."_

Inuyasha sighed and turned back to face the front of the room. There was only twenty minutes left in the school day, and then he could ask his mother to stop at the Shrine so he could see Kagome.

It seemed to take forever for the bell to ring and with a quick goodbye to the others he ran outside. He ran for the spot where his mother always picked him up and slid to a stop when he spotted Kagome. She was standing next to his mom and even from where he was standing he could see the large smile on her face.

"Inuyasha!" She yelled, running for him. She almost knocked him over as she ran into his arms at full speed. She hugged him tightly as he staggered a bit under the force of her weight hitting him. "I'm a big sister!"

Inuyasha stared at her. "You mean your mom had her baby?"

Kagome nodded, her smile growing even wider. Inuyasha hadn't seen her look this happy in a long time. "Yes, I have a baby brother, come on we're going to go see him!"

She tugged on his arm and all but dragged him to his mother's car. She was telling him all about her baby brother Souta and how she would be the best big sister in the world. Inuyasha's mother watched the two of them in amusement through the rear-view mirror.

"Kagome, your mother wants me to keep on eye on you so when we leave the hospital we're going to stop by the shrine to get you some clothes. You're going to spend the next few days at our house." Inuyasha's mother told her.

"Okay!" Kagome said excitedly.

They pulled up to the hospital and Kagome tugged impatiently at the door handle, which had the child safety lock on. She was about to roll down the window and climb out that way when Inuyasha's mother opened the door on her son's side. Kagome climbed over him in her eagerness to get out and ended up poking her friend in the eye.

Inuyasha didn't say anything but climbed out rubbing his watering eye. "Inuyasha what's wrong?" Kagome asked looking over at him as they entered the hospital.

"You poked me in the eye!" He exclaimed.

"Well I didn't mean to!" She told him.

"Yeah, but if you weren't acting so weird you wouldn't have poked me!" Inuyasha pouted.

"I can't help that I'm happy!" Kagome said, glaring at him.

Inuyasha's mother walked behind the two of them, trying desperately to hold back her laughter. She had seen them argue before, but nothing to this extent. Something told her that if their arguing was this bad while they were still young, it would only grow in intensity as they aged.

"You're mean!" Inuyasha said, turning away and pouting.

Kagome sighed heavily and turned her face away from him. "Yeah, well you're mean too!"

Inuyasha's mother shook her head as they entered Mrs. Higurashi's room. "How are you feeling Akina?" Inuyasha's mother asked as they stepped closer to her bed.

"Oh Kohana, I forgot how much pain is involved, but I wouldn't change it for the world!" Akina said, looking over at her daughter. "What's wrong with Kagome?"

Kohana smiled and shook her head. "Oh it's nothing to worry about, they just had a bit of a spat."

The two women stared at their children who were purposely looking anywhere but at each other. The two of them hid their grins when Inuyasha's ears twitched and the movement made Kagome look at him out of the corner of her eye. When their eyes made contact they both made small noises and looked away again.

"Mama, when can I hold Souta again?" Kagome asked, finally looking at her mother.

"When I bring him home Kagome." Akina told her daughter. "But maybe Kohana will be kind enough to take you to the viewing window, then at least you can show Inuyasha what your baby brother looks like."

The argument between the two of them seemed forgotten as Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and dragged him after his mother to the viewing window. "Those two are going to be so much trouble when they're older." Akina muttered happily to herself.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: K, I'm a ditz, I forgot to mention that at the time I wrote this story I didn't know that Inuyasha's mother was named Izayoi so I had given her an alternate name and by the time I learned her name I had gotten a fair chunk of my story written and I didn't have the time to go back and change it. Don't like it? TOO BAD lol...I'm lazy. Also the chapters progress by age until they are about 15 or 16.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own, still not claiming to...that means you still can't sue me.**

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__Age 10_

Kagome finished blowing up the pink balloon and handed it to her mother to tie off. Once it was tied it was then handed over to Kagome's grandfather so that he could add it to the rest of them.

"So you're ten years old today Kagome." Akina teased her daughter. "Do you feel any older?"

Kagome shrugged as she started to blow up another balloon. "Not really, I feel pretty much the same as always."

Akina chuckled and patted Kagome's knee. "When you get to be my age, you'll wish that you could still say that." Her mother told her. "Where's Inuyasha? I thought he was going to come help us decorate for your party."

"He was until he realized that there were balloons involved in the decorating." Kagome said, reaching for another balloon. "We thought it best if he didn't help with that."

Akina laughed, thinking of the countless times she had to repair or replace something that Inuyasha had damaged with his claws. "Oh, he'll probably show up sooner or later."

The door to the kitchen slid open and Inuyasha ran inside. "Happy Birthday!" He screamed, launching himself at Kagome.

Everyone winced when he tipped Kagome's chair and the two of them slid across the floor. There was also the sound of a balloon popping, signalling that Inuyasha's claws had once again done some damage. Everyone looked over at the two children on the floor and could see the anger starting to rise in Kagome.

"You idiot!" She yelled pushing Inuyasha off of her. "Why in the world did you do that?"

Inuyasha jumped to his feet and pointed a finger at Kagome. "I was giving you a birthday hug!"

"You call that a hug? What am I a line backer now or something?" Kagome demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at her friend.

"Fine, next time I won't even come to your birthday party!" He said, imitating her pose.

"Alright children, enough!" Akina said trying to keep herself from laughing.

"Hey, he started it!" Kagome said.

Akina ignored her daughter's comment. "Did you remember to tell Sango to wear pants or shorts?"

"Yes, I did. In fact I reminded all the girls that were coming." Kagome said, fixing her chair and going back to blowing up balloons.

"Why should all the girls wear pants?" Inuyasha asked.

"Because Eri's cousin Miroku is coming and he tends to look up skirts." Kagome said.

Inuyasha made a face at that thought. "I'll protect you Kagome." He said, puffing his chest out.

"Yeah, whatever." Kagome said going back to her balloons.

Inuyasha's posture deflated a bit and he turned to help Kagome's grandfather hang a sign across the fire place. Within the hour the house was filled with children, human and Youkai alike.

Inuyasha spent most of his time watching Miroku. The kid was fun and he and Inuyasha hit it off right away, but Kagome's words still played over in his mind. He eyed the amorous child, just in case he had to pull him away from the girls. Kagome pulled herself away from a group of girls and walked over to Inuyasha.

"Why do you look like that?" Kagome asked him.

"Like what?" Inuyasha asked, wondering if she was insinuating something.

"Like you want to go and pound Miroku." She told him. "It looked like you were getting along earlier."

"Oh." Inuyasha said. "We are getting along; I'm just watching him to make sure he doesn't do anything bad."

Kagome laughed and reached up and scratched one of his ears. "You need to relax."

Inuyasha brushed her hand away, trying to act annoyed. "Feh."

Kagome shook her head and returned to the girls that she had originally been talking to.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Inuyasha and Co.**

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_Age 13:_**

Inuyasha bounded into Kagome's room screaming her name as he flung himself onto her sleeping form. Her arms and legs flew out in every direction possible as his weight crashed down on her.

"Inuyasha!" She screamed irritably as he rolled around on top of her to make sure she wouldn't fall back asleep.

"Good morning!" He said happily.

Kagome glared at him and pulled the covers up to her chin. "Have you ever heard of knocking?" She hissed at him.

"Feh, like that would have done anything!" He said, pulling her blankets. "Come on, get your butt out of bed."

Kagome held onto the blankets tighter. "Inuyasha get lost, I'm not dressed."

Inuyasha gave her a confused look before he continued to pull on her blankets. "So you're in your pyjama's big deal!" He said. "Besides we used to bathe together."

Kagome's jaw dropped, not believing that he had brought that up. "That was one time and we were six years old! Besides we wouldn't have had to bathe together if you hadn't gotten all that gum in our hair and gotten us stuck together!"

"So?" He asked. "You also used to swim in the river in only your underwear!"

Kagome's glare narrowed to the point where she could barely see him through her eyelashes. She sat up and began poking him in the chest in irritation. "Listen you little…" She trailed off when she noticed that he was staring at her chest.

Kagome looked down and realized that her blankets had fallen away, revealing her sports bra. She blushed and quickly covered herself with her arms. She would have liked nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die right there.

"Whoa!" Inuyasha exclaimed, pulling at her arms to try and get a better look. "What are those?"

Kagome stared at him in shock, not believing that he had just said that. "Oh give me a break, you know exactly what those are!" She said. "And the reason why I know that you know is because we took sex ed together!"

"Okay fine." Inuyasha said. "But when did you get them?"

Kagome buried her face in her hands, her face turning more crimson by the second. "God I hope I remember this moment when your voice starts changing." She groaned. "I've had them for almost a year now."

"And they suddenly got that big over night?" He asked, still trying to get a better look at them. He fell off her bed when her hand connected sharply against his cheek. "Ow! What was that for!"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I've been taping them down." Kagome told him.

"Why would you do a stupid thing like that?" He asked, rubbing his stinging cheek.

"Because I was hoping that they would stop growing!" She yelled at him. "Who let you in anyway?"

Inuyasha reached up and scratched his ear before answering her. "Souta did, as him and your mom were leaving this morning."

"What time was that at?" Kagome asked.

"Nine."

Kagome looked at her clock. "Inuyasha, it's 11:44, what have you been doing this whole time?"

"Nothing, just watching TV, played some video games, played with Buyo for a bit." Inuyasha said. "Your damn cat attacked me again by the way."

Kagome studied him for several minutes. "Why do I not believe that that was all you did?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I made some ramen, but that's about it."

Kagome eyed him curiously. "How many packages?"

"Umm…" Inuyasha said, starting to move away from her.

"Oh no you don't." Kagome said, grabbing onto his hair and pulling him toward her. "How many packages of ramen?"

"Six." Inuyasha said. "What? I'm a growing boy!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and climbed out of bed, taking a minute to adjust her pyjama pants and grab a t-shirt. "Oh yeah, you'll be growing alright, but it sure as hell won't be vertically."

Inuyasha followed her out of her room and down to the kitchen. "Well at least I cleaned up!"

Kagome gave him a dirty look before digging out something to eat for lunch. "I would offer you some food, but since you just ate almost all the ramen in the house, you're probably not hungry."

The sound of Inuyasha's stomach growling answered for him. "I could go for some food."

Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose before pulling out some extra food for him as well. After they ate they settled down in front of the TV and started a movie. "So what do you want to do today?" Kagome asked as Inuyasha settled on the floor in front of her.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I dunno, your mom said she was going to be gone all weekend."

Kagome nodded and watched his right ear twitch. "Yeah that's why I invited you over and told you to bring enough stuff for two days." She told him.

Inuyasha scratched his ear and turned to look at her. "Then why were you so surprised that I came?"

Kagome watched as his ear started to twitch again. "I wasn't expecting you so early." She told him. "What's wrong with your ear, you got fleas or something dog boy?"

"No." Inuyasha muttered. "Well not exactly anyway."

Kagome sat up and started to move away from him slightly. "I don't want to catch some weird parasite from you."

Inuyasha gave her a dirty look. "It's not like that!" He insisted. "A friend of my dad came to visit today."

Kagome was starting to get irritated by the twitching and she reached out and rubbed the ear, letting her nails scrape it gently. "Who?"

"Myouga the Flea. He bit my ear and now it's driving me nuts." Inuyasha told her.

"Why would he bite your ear?" Kagome said, almost laughing when his head tilted to the side.

"I don't know, he always bites me when he sees me." Inuyasha told her.

"So why did he come to visit?" She asked, moving her hand to scratch his other ear.

"He came to explain some things to me and mom."

Kagome gave an irritated sigh. "Stop making me guess and just bloody tell me!"

Inuyasha sighed, knowing that Kagome would press him until he told her. "Look, I just don't want to talk about it right now. Can we drop this and pick it up again later?"

Kagome shrugged. "Sure thing, just promise me that we will actually talk about this later." Inuyasha sighed and nodded. "Good, want me to stop scratching your ears?"

"No. I like it when you scratch them, your touch is relaxing." He admitted to her.

Kagome smiled to herself and continued to massage the soft triangles. They turned their attention back to the TV in front of them and watched their movie in silence.

* * *

Inuyasha stared out the window as Kagome pulled the pizza from the oven. "The sun's almost set." He muttered.

"What?" Kagome asked, burning her arm on the hot element inside the oven. "Ow, shit!"

Inuyasha turned from the window and walked over to her. She had placed the pizza on top of the stove and was running her arm under cold water. Inuyasha grabbed a cloth and soaked it in the freezing water before he lead Kagome over to a chair. He sat her down and pressed the icy cloth to her skin.

"So are you going to tell me what Myouga had to say to you?" Kagome asked Inuyasha.

Inuyasha nodded. "First there are some things that I need to explain to you before I can explain about that." He said, staring at her arm. "Kagome, have you ever noticed that I tend to stay home a lot when it's the beginning of a Lunar month?"

Kagome shrugged. "Not really, I always talk to you on the phone when we don't hang out." She told him, taking the cloth from his hands. "Or else I'm out with the others."

"Have you ever noticed something different about me when you talk to me?" He asked as the sun completely disappeared.

"No. Inuyasha, what is this all about?" Kagome asked, looking up from her arm.

She gasped when she saw him. His silver hair had become black and he was staring at her with dark blue eyes instead of gold ones. Her eyes instantly flew up to look at the top of his head and she almost wept when she saw that his ears were gone.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, reaching out to touch the spot where his ears usually sat. "What's going on?"

Inuyasha sighed and sat back, letting Kagome's hand slide from the top of his head. "All Hanyou's have a night where the demon blood in their body becomes dormant and they become fully mortal. Mine is on the first day of the lunar month, or when the moon is new."

Kagome studied him sadly, absorbing everything that he had just told her. "Why did you wait six years to tell me about this?" She asked him. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you!" Inuyasha said, grabbing her hand. "I couldn't tell you because my mom made me promise not to reveal it to anyone."

"So why are you telling me about it now?" Kagome asked, starting to feel more than a little confused.

"Because Myouga told me some things tonight that mom and I agreed someone else should know just in case." Inuyasha told her. "Someone who can watch out for me."

Kagome studied him quietly for a few moments. "Well, are you going to tell me?"

Inuyasha sighed and nodded, throwing his black hair over his shoulders. "Well the thing with Hanyou's is that we develop very differently then humans and other demons. While most of the demons at school look like they're our age, they can sometimes be centuries older then us. Demons age slowly from the time they're born until the time they die. Hanyou's on the other hand age as mortals until they reach maturity. By the time I reach 18 I'll stop aging like you do and age like a demon."

"So why do I need to watch over you then?" Kagome asked, confused.

"Because when I turn 18 there's a chance that my Demon blood could fully take over. Myouga told me how to keep it under control, but if my emotions get away from me, I might not be able to control the demon blood." Inuyasha told her. "That's where you come in."

"So I'm supposed to stop you from going into blood lust serial killer mode?" Kagome asked. "How the Hell am I supposed to do that?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Myouga didn't tell me that part, but I guess it's because I know your scent so well, and you know I would never hurt you."

Kagome sat silently for a few minutes before she smiled at him evilly. "I guess I could always rub your ears." She laughed, earning her a glare.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue...**

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_Age 15_

Kagome sat on a swing in the park. She and Inuyasha had just had the fight of all fights. They had started going to high school a few weeks earlier and with that came new people. Inuyasha had started dating a girl named Kikyo. No one knew this girl, she had moved from a different city, but everything in Kagome's soul screamed that something about this girl wasn't right.

First of all she had made their school uniform shorter than it was. Kagome's skirt was already mid thigh thanks to her long legs, and Kikyo's had been much the same. That hadn't been the only thing that she did though. She had also taken in her school uniform shirt to make it tighter, and she wore copious amounts of dark make up. But even that didn't really bother Kagome. The girl was down right rude.

She was the typical high school female that knew men found her attractive, giving her an ego that could easily be shared by a dozen people. That was what Kagome didn't like. And yet, Inuyasha went after her like a dog in heat.

"Well, he is a dog demon, and he is in puberty." She muttered to herself kicking at the small pebbles. She sighed and buried her face in her hands. "What am I going to do?"

He had asked her to come to his house to hang out, but when she got there Kikyo was lounging on the couch. She looked at Inuyasha in shock, but he didn't seem to notice. He introduced them and the two girls said hello through fake smiles and forced cheerful voices. When Kagome said that she had a headache and wanted to go home, Inuyasha followed her.

_"Okay, what the hell is going on?" He hissed as Kagome pulled on her shoes._

_"I told you, I have a headache." Kagome told him, really not wanting to get into a fight with him in front of Kikyo. The last thing she needed was to give her more ammo._

_"So then I'll get you some Tylenol or something."_

_Kagome shook her head and pulled on her hoodie. "Look, I just want to go lie down in a dark room and get some sleep."_

_Inuyasha glared at her and tapped his foot impatiently. "Yeah right." He muttered. "I can tell something is going on here. Do you have a problem with my girlfriend?"_

Those words cut through Kagome's soul. She felt betrayed that he could go out with someone who was so two faced, someone who hated her. She had called him a few choice names before running out the door. She didn't feel like going home so she went to the park and sat on her swing. The only downside about being here was that if Inuyasha searched for her, he'd easily find her. But she couldn't think of a better place to go, at least if Inuyasha phoned and told her mother that they had been in a fight she wouldn't worry about Kagome.

"Like he'd do that anyway." She said, kicking more stones.

She almost screamed when someone pushed her back, sending the swing forward. She leapt off gracefully and turned to face the person who had done it. "Inuyasha you creep!" She shouted

Inuyasha stared at her silently for a few moments before stepping closer to her. He pulled her closer to him and breathed in her scent. He hugged her tightly, cutting off most of her oxygen. "I thought for sure I pissed you off bad enough this time to make you stop talking to me."

"Inuyasha, if you don't let me get some oxygen I will never talk to you again." Kagome said. "It's kind of hard for the dead to talk."

Inuyasha immediately released her. "So are you still mad at me?"

Kagome sighed and crossed the playground to the slide. She climbed up to the top and sat down while Inuyasha sat at the bottom facing her. It was a position they had sat in plenty of times when they were children. They could sit and talk like this for hours, annoying the people who had brought them to the park to play, and the other children who wanted to use the slide.

"It's not that I'm mad at you." Kagome said. "Well that's a lie, I am mad at you. But that's because you were a big jerk tonight! And I still can't believe that you're dating Kikyo."

Inuyasha stared up at her in confusion. "Why don't you like Kikyo?"

Kagome gave him her 'oh please' look. "She's just rude to me and all the rest of our friends at school. When you're around she's nice because she doesn't want to piss you off."

Inuyasha wisely bit his tongue, knowing that if he tried to argue with her it would only lead to another fight. Kagome didn't feel like fighting again. Instead she slid down the slide and crashed into him, knocking him off the slide.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded, jumping to his feet.

"For dating someone that I can't stand!" Kagome told him. "But unfortunately I can't tell you who you can and can't date."

Inuyasha stared at her for several minutes before sighing. "Would you do something for me?" Kagome stared at him and he knew that was her way of asking him what he wanted. "Will you at least play nice?"

"I won't bare my claws if she doesn't." Kagome sighed reluctantly.

"Good." Inuyasha said. "Now that that is settled, I need to ask you a favour."

Kagome groaned. The last time he had asked her for a favour Miroku had grabbed her ass and she had given him a lovely scarlet hand print on his cheek. "As long as it doesn't involve giving Miroku advice again."

"Can I kiss you?" He asked bluntly.

Kagome stared at him in shock, her left eyebrow rising slowly. "Did you do some drugs before following me?"

Inuyasha glared at her, clearly annoyed. "Of course not!"

"Then why would you want to kiss me and cheat on Kikyo?" Kagome asked.

"Look, I don't want Kikyo to think that I'm more inexperienced than I am." Inuyasha told her, his face turning crimson. "I need you to help me learn how to kiss."

Kagome's jaw dropped in shock. "If you want to learn how to kiss go ask Sango or someone who's actually kissed someone else before!"

Inuyasha's face grew even redder. "No! Sango would make fun of me; besides at least with you if I suck at kissing then you have no basis for comparison."

Kagome glared at him. "Oh thanks so much, why don't you just rub it in a little?"

Inuyasha whined, completely frustrated with his friend. "Will you just shut up and help me?"

"Fine."

Inuyasha moved up and sat beside her. They looked at each other in awkward silence and looked away blushing. They stared anywhere but each other. Finally the tension annoyed Kagome. She reached out and grabbed him by his hair, giving it a sharp tug.

"Ow, hey!" Inuyasha shouted, turning his head.

Kagome took the opportunity given to her and pressed her lips to his. Their eyes stayed open and they stared at each other in shock. Inuyasha angled his head, deepening the kiss without truly knowing what he was doing. His tongue ran timidly over Kagome's bottom lip and her tongue slipped out to touch his. Inuyasha's demon instincts kicked in and he all but tackled Kagome against the slide.

Kagome tore her lips away but Inuyasha didn't stop. Instead he took the opportunity to move down to her neck, licking and nibbling the flesh there. "Inuyasha, stop!" Kagome cried, pushing weakly at his arms.

He flew away from her and landed almost the entire length of the playground away from her. She winced as he skidded across the sharp gravel. She stared at her hands in shock, trying to figure out what had just happened. There was no way she had pushed him hard enough to send him flying like that.

She thought about their conversation two years ago and the conversation she had with Myouga afterwards. She knew her voice; if not her mere presence was what would calm Inuyasha's demon blood. Myouga had even tried insisting that Inuyasha mark her in someway, just so that the demon would know not to attack her at all. The two teens had refused, insisting that Inuyasha would recognize her no matter what his form was.

Obviously her sudden panic that things would go too far and the sound of her voice saying stop was what had sent him flying; his demon blood becoming soothed. Inuyasha jumped to his feet and stalked back over to her.

"Can we lose some of the violence?" He shouted at her.

"Look, just do what you did and I'm sure Kikyo will like it."

Inuyasha stared at her, not knowing what she was talking about. She watched him suddenly turn red and stare down at his feet, kicking the tiny pebbles. "Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away."

Kagome said nothing; instead she climbed to her feet and nodded. "It's alright." She said, rubbing her arms as if she was cold. "Look, Inuyasha, I think I'm going to head home."

Inuyasha climbed to his feet. "Alright, I'll walk you."

Kagome shook her head, "No, I want to be alone."

Inuyasha stared after her as she walked off. He sat down on the slide and stared at the ground. He didn't really understand what had possessed him to ask Kagome to kiss him. He touched his lips gently and grinned to himself. Whatever had been the reason behind his motivation, it had been well worth it.

Ever since they were thirteen he had wondered what it would be like to kiss her. In fact he had been tempted by Myouga's suggestion to mark her back when he had told her about his demon blood and what might happen after he turned eighteen. He knew that by marking her no other demon would have any type of claim on her, even though it wasn't a mating mark. The protection mark symbolized that she both protected and was under the protection of someone with Demon blood, this meant that no demon would be able to date her, let alone touch her without his strict permission. Unfortunately it didn't prevent humans from dating her.

Inuyasha growled at the thought of Kagome dating someone else. At first he couldn't understand why she had gotten so upset at the fact that Kikyo was at his house when he called her over. But now he understood, or at least he thought he did.

He gave Kagome another few minutes before following her. No matter how busy he was, he always dropped everything to follow Kagome home. After all, it was the only way that he could ensure that she got home safely.

Kagome sighed and spotted a pay phone across the street. She ran across the street and quickly dialled Sango's number. "Hey, it's Kagome."

Sango glared at Miroku, who was sporting a rather red handprint on his face. He had always flirted with Sango, in fact, ever since he met her he had hardly left her alone. She had invited him over with the hopes that he could tutor her in math, but it had resulted in her spending half the night trying to keep his hands away from her rear end.

"Hey Kagome, what's up?" Sango asked.

"Do you think that I could come over for a few minutes, I need to talk to you about something."

Sango watched Miroku's hands carefully. "Sure as long as you don't mind the groping pervert being here."

Kagome grinned but decided to let that slide for the time being. "Okay, I'm a couple blocks away so I'll be there in about ten minutes or so."

She hung up the phone and turned towards Sango's house. Inuyasha followed behind her silently, wondering why she suddenly had to talk to Sango. When they reached Sango's house he jumped up into a tree and over to her brother Kohaku's window. He knew that of all the window's, Kohaku's would be the one unlocked. He slid the window opened and jumped in before creeping to the top of the stairs.

"So what's wrong?" Sango asked as she led Kagome into the living room.

Kagome didn't answer right away, instead she turned her head towards the staircase, and she could have sworn that she felt Inuyasha's presence in the house. "Kagome?" Miroku asked. "Are you alright?"

"I could have sworn that Inuyasha was there, but I'm probably just imagining things." Kagome said, sitting down in a recliner.

"So what's going on?" Sango asked. "I thought that you were hanging out at Inuyasha's tonight, that's why you weren't going to be able to come tonight for the study session."

"Yeah I did go there, but Kikyo was there and I left." She told them.

"Why the hell was Kikyo there?" Miroku asked.

"Apparently they're dating now."

Sango's mouth dropped open in shock. "He's actually dating that bitch?"

Miroku and Kagome stared at her in shock. Sango never swore unless she was absolutely pissed off about something. "Yes he's actually dating her. I don't know how she can date him when she hates his friends so much, but they're dating."

"So that's the reason why you came here?" Miroku asked, sounding slightly bitter.

"No." Kagome told them. "After I left his place I went to the playground to think and he showed up."

"Did you two fight?" Sango asked.

"No, not exactly." Kagome told them. "We, uh, kind of kissed."

"Oh thank God, I was worried that you were going to say that you killed…" Miroku started to say. "Wait a minute, you guys kissed?"

Kagome nodded. "But he's dating Kikyo." Sango said.

"I know!" Kagome said jumping to her feet. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to work out her frustration. Inuyasha could pick up on the subtle change of her scent because of it. "He followed me to the playground, asked me to be nice to Kikyo then asked me if he could kiss me so that she wouldn't think that he was inexperienced."

The girls stared at Miroku when he snickered behind his hand. "What's so funny?" Sango asked him.

"That's the oldest trick in the book!" Miroku said. "He either has been wondering how it would be to kiss you, or else he's trying to figure out who kisses better."

Kagome blushed while Sango smirked at her. "I know that he hasn't kissed her yet, or anyone for that matter."

"Oh yeah, why do you say that?" Miroku asked.

"Because he would have told me." Kagome told him. "And before you tell me that he's a guy and he wouldn't tell me, he would. We don't have a relationship like anyone else does."

"She has a point Miroku." Sango said jumping in. "From day one Inuyasha and Kagome have had a strange relationship. I mean look at how he lets her touch his ears. Even his mother doesn't touch his ears that much. His mom only tweaks them when she needs his attention, but Kagome can sit for hours and scratch or stroke his ears."

"I am sitting right here Sango!" Kagome said.

"I know!" Sango laughed. "I'm just speaking the truth!"

"So how was the kiss Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"I don't know, I've never kissed anyone else so I have no basis of comparison."

Miroku stood up and moved closer to Kagome, grasping her hand in between his. "Then allow a master to show you how it's done and you'll have a basis for comparison!"

Inuyasha was about to run down the stairs and tear him away from Kagome when he heard two loud and presumably very painful slaps. He smirked and settled himself back down on the top step to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"So now that he'll stay out of the conversation for a bit, tell me how it was." Sango pressed her.

Kagome sighed and sat down on the floor, pulling her knees and wrapping her arms around them. "It was," Kagome sighed again, "It was amazing."

Sango burst out laughing. "It was amazing huh?"

Kagome blushed. "Well, amazing for a guy who's never kissed someone before."

"So do you think that this will change things between you two?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know." She said. "I should get home, I'm tired and I don't want mom to worry about me."

Sango nodded and led Kagome out while Inuyasha stood and made his way outside. He let Kagome get ahead of him and followed her home. He jumped up into the ancient tree that was near her room. Through her closed curtain he could see her light come on. He waited until it was turned off before making his way to her window. He slid the window open and could smell her scent, telling him that she was in the room.

"Kagome?" He whispered softly.

Kagome's body turned over on her bed so that she was facing him. "What are you doing here?" She whispered to him.

"Are we okay?" He asked the question that had been plaguing him since he left Sango's. "This isn't going to change things between us is it?"

Kagome sighed. "I knew you were at Sango's!" She muttered, blushing slightly. "You climbed through Kohaku's window again didn't you?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome please answer the question."

Kagome fell silent and stared at him for a few minutes. She reached down and pulled the corner of her blanket up. Inuyasha smiled and slipped off his shoes and socks before sliding into bed beside her. This was nothing new to the two of them. While their position was very intimate, it was their way of affirming their friendship. Inuyasha grabbed her hands under the covers, before raising one hand up and placed it on his ears.

"Sango's right you know." Inuyasha said as Kagome started to rub his left ear.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, stifling a yawn.

"You are the only one that I allow to touch my ears." Inuyasha said.

Kagome nodded and snuggled closer to him. "I know."

He held her as her breath evened out and deepened. He relaxed into the mattress and let sleep overcome him. He was content and peaceful and decided that at that moment there was no where else he'd rather be.


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: From here on out I will not be putting the ages in, simply because this is where my story is really going to pick up. They've reached the age where I figure that they're old enough to handle "adult situations" because in all honesty, Kagome being 15 and having to deal with that stuff kind of gives me the creeps (but I deal with it).** **Also, I'm not really a Kikyo hater, I actually find her character interesting, but I do need to make her a bitch since it fits in with the plot of this story. And yes it is Inu/Kag, but not for a while.**

**As always R and R. Thanks to all those who have! **

I don't own anything but this story's plot and any original characters that I might come up with.

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* * *

Age 17:_

Inuyasha walked out of the store wrestling with the flowers he had just bought Kikyo. It was their second anniversary and he had already blown most of his pocket money buying her presents. He had asked Kagome to go with him but she told him that she had some errands to run and wouldn't be able to go.

He walked towards his car and spotted a familiar figure exiting a burger joint. He was about to call to Kagome when he realized that she wasn't alone. Kouga, the new exchange student was trailing after her. He watched as Kagome pushed at Kouga, only to have him come back and wrap an arm around her waist.

Inuyasha's eyes dropped to a glare as Kouga nibbled on Kagome's neck, while she giggled. He knew that Kagome knew what Kouga's intentions meant, and still she didn't push him away. He growled low in his throat when Kagome turned and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Kagome could feel Inuyasha's presence and pulled away from Kouga. She waved to him before crossing the street. "Hey you." She said, hugging Inuyasha.

Inuyasha winced as he smelt Kouga's scent all over her. "I thought you had errands to run today." He said bitterly.

"I did, but Kouga offered to drive me after mom needed the car." Kagome told him.

"I could have driven you around. I needed your help this morning."

Kagome glanced at the flowers. "Oh my God!" She exclaimed. "I totally forgot about your anniversary!"

Kouga scratched his head and stared at Inuyasha. "Anniversary for what dog breath?"

Inuyasha glared at Kouga. "It's his second anniversary with Kikyo today." Kagome told him.

"Who the hell would want to spend two years with you?" Kouga asked.

"Hey!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Kagome's been with me for eleven years!"

"So to speak." Kagome muttered. "Do you need any more help picking anything out?"

"But Kagome, we were supposed to go see a movie!" Kouga whined.

"We can go later." Kagome said, brushing him off.

"Well, I could use some help picking out a sweater that I know she wants. You guys are probably the same size." Inuyasha said, smirking at Kouga.

Kagome turned to face Kouga. "Would you mind if I call you once we're done?" Kagome asked. "I can meet you at the theater."

Kouga snarled at Inuyasha before turning back to Kagome. "Yeah, that's fine." He muttered, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Inuyasha watched Kouga smugly as he got into his car. Once he was gone Kagome linked her arm through his and let him lead her over to his own vehicle. "So how long have you two been together?"

Kagome sighed. She had decided not to tell him about her and Kouga, knowing how he would react. "I dunno, about a month or so now."

Inuyasha stared at her in shock before allowing her in to the car. "You mean to tell me that you and Kouga have been dating for a month and you didn't tell me?"

Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I didn't tell you because I know how you are."

"Well Kagome, he's a full demon!" Inuyasha told her. "You of all people should know what demons are after!"

Kagome sighed and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!" She said, reaching over to scratch his ear. "Besides, if anything happens, I always have you to defend my honor."

Inuyasha smirked at her as he pulled away from the curb. "Damn rights you do!"

They drove a short distance to the store where Inuyasha knew Kikyo's sweater was. He had seen her looking at it several times over the past few weeks, but it was expensive and he knew that she would never be able to afford it. They climbed out of the car and started towards the shop. He heard Kagome gasp and he was suddenly pulled into an alley.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" He asked.

Kagome shushed him and pointed down the street. Inuyasha peaked his head around the corner. At first he couldn't figure out what it was that he was supposed to be looking at, and then he saw her. Kikyo had just walked out of a store, but before he had the chance to go to his girlfriend a guy he had never seen before wrapped his arms around her, his hands sliding into her back pockets.

Kagome's eyes narrowed as Kikyo reached up and kissed the guy in a very non-platonic way. She heard Inuyasha's breath catch in his throat, but before she could do anything he was on his way to what she could only assume was tear the guy a new one.

She quickly jumped to her feet and followed him. "Hey!" Inuyasha shouted.

Kikyo turned to face her boyfriend and quickly slapped the face of the boy she had just been kissing. "Inuyasha, thank God you're here!" She exclaimed. "He tried to force himself on me!"

"Save it Kikyo, we saw the whole thing." Inuyasha said.

"Who's we?" Kikyo asked as Kagome appeared behind Inuyasha. "Oh, surprise surprise."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "What's it to you Kikyo?"

"Just that he stands here freaking out because I'm out with a friend and he's doing the exact same thing." Kikyo hissed at her.

"A friend huh?" Kagome asked. "I have friends too, but I certainly don't go around acting like that with them!"

Kikyo's hand balled into a fist as she glared at Kagome. "And how do I know that you and Inuyasha don't? You spend more time with him then I do."

"Enough!" Inuyasha yelled. "Kagome is my best friend and nothing will ever change that. No matter who I'm seeing, Kagome will always be my best friend!"

Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Oh that's rich."

"Look Kikyo, not only do I find out that you're cheating on me, but I also find out that you're as big of a bitch as everyone's been telling me for the past two years!" Inuyasha told her. "It's over. Come on Kagome."

Kagome followed Inuyasha silently as he climbed into his car. "Are you alright?" She asked as he had settled in behind the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Inuyasha sighed. "I guess it's good thing I haven't taken any prices off the presents I got her."

Kagome nodded and glanced at the flowers laying in the back seat. "Look, do you want to come and spend the night at my house tonight?"

"What about Kouga?"

Kagome shrugged. "He'll understand. We can order a pizza, get some movies and just veg all night. Mom and gramps are out of town and Souta's at his friend's house tonight. We won't have anyone to harass us."

Inuyasha pulled up to a red light and wrapped his arms around Kagome, pulling her to him and kissing her temple gently. "What would I do without you?"

Kagome grinned. "Well for one you wouldn't be able to gorge yourself on pizza and junk food."

"Did your mom pick up Ramen?"

"Is Miroku a pervert?" Kagome retorted.

"Fair enough, let's go."

* * *

The alarm on Inuyasha's cell phone roused both of them from their sleep. The TV was playing nothing but snow and Kagome's neck was cramped from falling asleep leaning against her arm. Kagome groaned and groped around for the offending object.

She picked up his cell phone and saw a message saying, "Pick up Ship, 3 am, airport." Kagome reached down and shook Inuyasha awake, cursing him for being able to resume his sleep so easily.

"What?" He muttered rubbing his eyes.

"You have a message. Something about picking up Ship at 3 am from an airport?"

Inuyasha groaned. "Shit, I forgot all about that. I guess you wouldn't want to come and keep me company would ya?"

Kagome yawned and weighed her options, deciding to go with him. She reached across the table and grabbed the remote control. She turned the TV off before grabbing a hair tie. She stood and pulled her hair back as she followed Inuyasha out to his car.

"So what's Ship?" She asked him.

"Shippou, my baby cousin." Inuyasha told her. "Remember him?"

"Shippou? The little Kitsune?" Kagome asked him.

"Yeah. He's coming to live with us." Inuyasha said.

"He's coming to live with you?" Kagome asked. "Why is he coming to live with you?"

"Because his parents were killed the other night." Inuyasha explained.

Kagome gasped. Shippou's parents weren't really related to Inuyasha. Shippou and Inuyasha's fathers had been friends since childhood, even though they weren't blood family, they considered themselves to be brothers. Same went for Shippou and Inuyasha, while they weren't really cousins; they saw no reason to say otherwise.

"Oh my God!" Kagome exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I didn't want to upset you is all."

Kagome reached over and tweaked his ear gently. "You know that I want to know about things like that!"

Inuyasha nodded, but said nothing. They spent the rest of the ride in silence. They arrived at the airport and parked as close to the building as they could. They walked through the countless corridors, trying to find the terminal that Shippou would be coming out of. When they finally found it, they sat down and waited for his plane to arrive.

Kagome yawned and rubbed her eyes. She was tired and would like nothing more then to be at home in bed, but she didn't mind being there with Inuyasha. Inuyasha watched her out of the corner of his eye before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him.

"Lie on my lap and get some sleep." He told her.

Kagome nodded and rested her head on his thigh, sleep overcoming her immediately. Inuyasha sighed and touched her head, gently running his fingers through the hair that was hanging underneath her hair tie. He waited patiently for the plane to land. He was excited that Shippou was coming to live with him. He considered the young Kitsune to be like a little brother, or even a son.

As he played with the strands of Kagome's hair he thought of how Kagome had acted over Shippou when he was a baby. She had immediately taken him into her arms and cooed at the sight of him. She had held him for hours, rocking him, singing to him, playing with him and Shippou had loved every minute of it.

"Flight 2298 is now arriving in terminal three."

Inuyasha sighed and shook Kagome awake. "Come on, his flight's here. We were promised that he would be one of the first ones off."

Kagome nodded and followed Inuyasha to the gate. A flight attendant opened the doors and lead the small, scared Kitsune out of the plane. Shippou looked around nervously, but his face broke out into a smile when he saw Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha!" He cried happily letting go of the attendants hand and running to the Hanyou.

"Hey Shippou!" Inuyasha said, scooping the kit up in his arms. "How was the flight?"

"Airplanes are noisy." Shippou said. "Who's she?"

Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "This is my best friend Kagome. She used to hold you all the time when you were little."

"She's pretty." Shippou whispered.

Kagome grinned at the kit and took him from Inuyasha. "Well I think you and I are going to get along great Shippou."

The young Kitsune stared at her, touching her face and hair while he breathed in her scent. "I remember that smell." He admitted. "Jasmine and Honeysuckle!"

Kagome gave Inuyasha a questioning look. "Jasmine and Honeysuckle?"

Inuyasha nodded. "It's what you smell like." He told her. "Your natural scent. Some people smell much better then others."

Shippou snuggled into Kagome. "Your smell is relaxing."

Kagome smiled and adjusted her hold on Shippou, making him more comfortable. It wasn't long before the young Kit was asleep in her arms. "Is my scent really that relaxing?"

Inuyasha watched for Shippou's luggage, checking tags from time to time to see if any were his. "Why do you think I told you about my demon blood and asked you to watch over me?" He asked her. "Your scent tames my blood."

Kagome blushed as Inuyasha pulled the last of the bags onto a trolley. "Come on, let's go home."


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Still don't own...**

* * *

Inuyasha grumbled as he helped Kagome spread a blanket on the ground. How he had let her convince him to come along to the beach was beyond him. Sure he had no problem swimming, but he hated being wet. Miroku had a tendency to crack wet dog jokes and he wasn't in the mood for them.

Inuyasha jumped when a deflated beach ball hit him in the face. "Hey! What was that for?" He demanded.

"To get you to stop pouting!" Kagome told him. "Look, I know you're still upset that Kikyo turned out to be a vapid whore, but you promised both Shippou and I that you would try to have some fun."

"Well, as long as Kouga doesn't show up, I will have fun." He muttered.

Before Kagome could start an argument with him, Shippou ran up to Kagome with his rubber floating ring in his hands. "Kagome!" He said, tugging on the leg of her capris. "Will you come play in the water with me?"

Kagome smiled down at the young fox. "You better believe I will!" She told him happily.

Inuyasha watched her out of the corner of his eye. She pulled off her tank top to reveal a black and white bikini top and then removed her capris to reveal the boy cut bottoms. Kagome didn't notice Inuyasha staring at her in shock, but she did notice the sharp whistle from Miroku, followed by a painful sounding slap from Sango.

Kagome chuckled and shook her head, wondering if Miroku would ever change. After almost five years of chasing after her, Sango had finally agreed to go out with Miroku. While she tried to deny it, everyone knew that Sango was happy and really didn't mind the way that Miroku showed his affection, as long as it was directed her way. Kagome picked Shippou up and walked with him to the water, giggling as his tiny tail brushed against her skin.

"Idiot." He muttered, as Miroku walked by, rubbing his stinging cheek.

Miroku gave the Kitsune a playful glare before continuing on his way towards Inuyasha. "So, not going to go play with Kagome in the water."

Inuyasha ignored the double meaning to Miroku's statement and sat down on the blanket. "No, I'm not. I'm going to sit here and try to get a tan."

Miroku sat beside him and followed his gaze out to the water. Kagome was splashing water at Shippou as she and Sango gently pushed him back and forth between them. Miroku turned and glanced at Inuyasha, and was shocked to see his friend looking so content while watching Shippou and Kagome.

"Something you want to tell me?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha blushed and shook his head. "No, why would you think that I have something to tell you?"

Miroku scratched his chin in thought. "Well, there is the fact that when Kagome stripped down to her bathing suit you looked like you wanted to go take a big bite out of her. And now you're watching her and Shippou like you're watching your family."

"They are my family though." Inuyasha said.

"I mean like you're watching your mate and your pup." Miroku told him. Inuyasha's cheeks turned a dark crimson and he refused to meet Miroku's eye. "Come on Inuyasha, you can tell me what's going on."

Inuyasha sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I've been having these dreams."

"Dreams involving Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"Yes, but not in the way that you think!" Inuyasha said, catching the lecherous grin that was passing over Miroku's face. "Ever since Shippou came to live with me and my mom, I've been having dreams about me and Kagome. We're older and Shippou's with us, but he's surrounded by other children. So many of them looked like Kagome that I thought maybe I was just seeing her future family, until a girl and a boy ran by and they looked like Kagome, but they had ears like mine."

Miroku whistled. "Wow, that's interesting."

"What do you think it means?" Inuyasha asked him.

Miroku sighed and watched as Kagome helped Shippou to swim towards Sango. "I couldn't tell you exactly what it means, but I can only guess that this is something that your subconscious is telling you that you want."

Inuyasha continued to watch Kagome before looking over at Miroku. "Well, when we were 15 I was told that as I matured and when I turned 18 my demon blood would start to be more prominent. I was told that I could find something or someone who would be able to help calm my demon blood, so I asked Kagome to be that person. It just made sense to me at the time. Her scent is so calming, not only to me, but to Shippou as well."

Miroku nodded and leaned back on his arms. "Then I think that this may be your demon blood saying that it wants Kagome to take on a different role in your life. I think that your demon side wants Kagome as a mate. That way it always has her to keep it calm."

Before Inuyasha could respond to him he was splashed with cold water. Kagome and Shippou were laughing so hard that they had tears running down their faces. Inuyasha growled and jumped to his feet, Shippou quickly dropped the bucket he had carried the water in and he and Kagome ran for the water, Inuyasha hot on their trail. Sango sat down beside Miroku and watched as Kagome and Inuyasha tried to knock one another into the water.

"You two looked deep in conversation." Sango said as Inuyasha knocked Kagome over, only to be dragged down with her.

"I think that Inuyasha is in love with Kagome." Miroku said.

Sango looked at Miroku in shock. "Really?" She asked.

They both looked over as they heard Kagome cough harshly, trying to rid her lungs of the water that had flooded them. Inuyasha pulled her up out of the water and rubbed her back until the coughing subsided. They watched Kagome rest her head against his shoulder as she fought to catch her breath.

"I think you may be right." Sango said as Inuyasha and Kagome stared at each other. "And I think that Kagome may be in love with him as well."


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I still don't own them**

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* * *

**Kagome jerked awake as the sound of her cell phone ringing disturbed her sleep. She had been tired after school and had opted on taking a nap while the rest of her friends figured out how to spend their Friday night. She glanced at her caller ID and cursed Sango's name before she pressed the button to connect the call. 

"Please tell me someone died or is in the hospital." She muttered.

"Not unless you count Miroku's trip to the hospital today." Sango told her.

Kagome yawned and rubbed her eye. "Why, what did he do now?"

"Nothing surprisingly enough." Sango told her. "He was up against Inuyasha in PE class and they're doing a boxing unit."

"Inuyasha kicked his ass huh?"

"Big time." Sango giggled. "Now for the purpose of my call, you know that new club that opened last week?"

"Onyx or something right?"

"Yes ma'am." Sango said lying down on her bed, ignoring the faces Kohaku was making from her doorway. "Well yours truly has acquired some passes to get in tonight. Apparently it's got music levels that are perfect for Youkai hearing."

"That's awesome!" Kagome exclaimed. "Are we old enough to get in?"

"Yeah we are. They have these stamps that they put on minors and the soap in the club won't wash it off. It only washes off when you wash your hands anywhere but inside the club." Sango told her.

"I'm so there." Kagome told her, climbing out of bed.

"So are you going to ask both Kouga and Inuyasha to come?" Sango asked her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Well you know how those two tend to behave when they're together." Sango told her. "I don't want to get kicked out because of hormones."

Kagome sat quietly and pondered the situation. "Well Inuyasha will behave if I ask him to." Kagome said. "Look can you call Kouga and ask him if he wants to come and I'll call Inuyasha and ask him to behave."

"Sure. Do you need a ride?" Sango asked.

"No either Inuyasha or I will drive." Kagome told her.

They agreed on a time and hung up. Kagome needed to plan out how to break the news that Kouga would be coming to Inuyasha. She raked her hands through her hair as she thought about what to tell him. She finally sighed and reached for her phone.

"I thought you were going to take a nap." Inuyasha said as he picked up his phone.

"I was, but Sango phoned and woke me up." Kagome told him.

"What did she want?"

"Apparently she landed passes to go to Onyx tonight." Kagome told him.

"Hmm, must be because Miroku's birthday is tomorrow." Inuyasha said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Kagome said. "Wait a minute, his birthday is tomorrow and you kicked his ass in boxing?"

"Yeah, after all, today wasn't his birthday now was it?" He asked defensively.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Nice Inuyasha."

"So who's all going tonight?"

"Uh, everyone." Kagome said, trying to sound casual about it.

"Everyone including Kouga?" Inuyasha asked.

"Don't use that tone." She whined. "Come on, if this is really for Miroku's birthday then you'll hurt his feelings if you don't go."

Inuyasha sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So basically what you're saying is if I don't go you won't talk to me for a while huh?"

"Pretty much."

Inuyasha could just picture the smile on Kagome's face. "Fine, I'll go, but as soon as he starts in on me, I'm outta there."

"Agreed." Kagome told him. "And if you leave, I'll leave with you. Do you want me to drive?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, I'll drive, that way you're forced to leave with me." He smiled at the sound of Kagome's laugh. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet, Mom and grandpa are at a PTA meeting and Souta's out with his girlfriend."

"Okay, let me change clothes and then I'll grab some food and come over."

"Alright, I'm going to hop in the shower, so just let yourself in."

They hung up their phones and each of them set about to their own routines. Kagome grabbed her underwear to change into and headed to the shower. She let the hot water wake her up and ended up staying in there longer than she had planned.

She stepped out and dried off before pulling her underwear on. Just to be on the safe side she pulled on her robe but left it open. She had once run to her room in a towel that was far too small for her. She found Miroku and Inuyasha sitting on her bed. Inuyasha she could have dealt with since he would have looked away, but Miroku had tried to pull the towel off of her. The thing that had prevented her from being exposed was Inuyasha successfully knocking Miroku unconscious and giving him a black eye.

She walked into her room and found Inuyasha sitting on her bed, eating a slice of pizza. "You better not be getting pizza sauce on my bed!"

Inuyasha glanced at her and almost choked on his pizza. The red robe that she was wearing was hanging open revealing her black bra and matching underwear. "I-I'm being careful." He stammered, looking away quickly.

"Good."

Inuyasha lowered his head, hiding his eyes behind his silver hair. He raised his eyes and watched from underneath his hair. Kagome slid her robe off, not really caring if her saw her or not.

"Hold it, what are you wearing?" Inuyasha asked suddenly. Kagome grinned to herself not knowing why it pleased her so much to know that he had peeped.

"I'm wearing my black skirt, why?" She asked him innocently.

"You're wearing your black skirt and you're wearing a thong under it?" He demanded.

Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples. "It's more common then you think Inuyasha." She told him. "If it bothers you that much, pretend you didn't see it."

"Kind of hard when you're changing right in front of me!" He told her.

"Hey, you sat yourself in this room. I said let yourself in, but I didn't mean into my room. If you don't like it, leave!"

Inuyasha stared at the pizza box sitting on her bed. If he left it there he ran the risk of not getting anymore pizza. Kagome may be thin, but she could definitely eat like a horse if she wanted to. In fact one time he and Miroku had challenged her and Sango to an eating contest. It resulted in Kagome eating an entire large pizza and a plate heaped with salad. She had also spent most of the night in the bathroom bringing it all back up.

However, there was an even worse downside to staying where he was. Staying meant that he ran the risk of her thinking he was a pervert for sitting there while she changed.

"I didn't realize that it was a question that needed such deep thought." Kagome teased him.

"I'm just trying to figure out how much pizza I'd lose if I left the box here."

Kagome scowled and threw a shirt at him. "God, the one time I ate more then my fair share!"

She held up two shirts for him to choose from. "Red." He muttered, grabbing another slice.

The choice didn't really surprise her. His favorite color was red and when ever he bought her something it was almost always in that color. She pulled the shirt on and turned her attention to the mirror; she reached over and turned on her curling iron before applying her make up.

She heard Inuyasha sigh behind her and she glanced at him in the mirror. He was sitting up, but he was obviously lost in thought as he stared out her window. She stood up quietly and crossed the room. She sat down in front of him and leaned her chin against his knee.

"What's wrong?"

Inuyasha looked down at her and grimaced inwardly at the sight of her painted face. He hated when she wore make up, he thought that it took away the natural physical beauty that she already possessed.

"Nothing." He lied.

"Yeah right. Have I ever told you that you're a terrible liar?" She said, turning her head so that her cheek was pressed against his knee. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking of Kikyo." He admitted.

"Kikyo?" Kagome asked, unable to hide the disgust in her voice. "Why the hell are you thinking about Kikyo?"

Inuyasha sighed and played with Kagome's hair. "I wasn't really thinking of her, I was more thinking about how I missed having someone."

Kagome looked up at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you have Kouga and Miroku and Sango have each other, I just don't want to spend the rest of my life alone, ya know?"

Kagome sat back, her mouth open in surprise. "Inuyasha, you're not even 18 yet!"

"Yeah, but you and I both know that come graduation Miroku is going to propose to Sango." Inuyasha told her. "Besides, I'm sure Kouga would do the same thing."

Kagome sighed and pulled away from Inuyasha. She turned and pressed her back to the mattress and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Yeah I guess so."

Inuyasha looked down at her in shock. "What do you mean?"

Kagome shrugged and played with the threads of the carpet beneath her toes. "I think Kouga is more serious about me then I am of him."

Inuyasha slid off the bed and stared at her. "I don't understand, I thought that you were in love with him."

Kagome scoffed and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Did I ever come out and say that?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I just assumed from the way you acted that you did."

Kagome sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. "I have no doubt that Kouga is crazy about me, but I'm just starting to lose interest in him. Ever since he turned 18 he's been moody and all he does is drink and race his stupid car against his friends."

Inuyasha leaned his head against hers and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "So why don't you break up with him?"

"Frankly, I'm afraid to."

Inuyasha's whole body stiffened at those words. This was Kagome, the girl who had more than once delivered a beating to someone who had made fun of him when they were younger. Kagome didn't get scared.

"Kagome," Inuyasha started, his body becoming more and tenser. "Has he hurt you in any way?"

"No Inuyasha." She muttered quietly.

Inuyasha's body relaxed somewhat at that, but he frowned when she climbed to her feet and wouldn't meet his gaze. She turned all her attention to curling her hair and styling it in a way that he briefly remembered hearing Kouga say that he liked. He wondered if maybe Kouga was abusing Kagome on a non-physical level.

"Ugh what am I doing?" Kagome asked, grabbing her brush.

"Kagome, if you don't love him why are you trying to please him?" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome turned and stared at her friend. "I'm not trying to please him."

"Then why that stupid hairstyle."

Kagome's eyes dropped to a glare. Inuyasha was positive that if she could have she would have him eating dirt right now after she slammed him around. "I was giving it a try after Kouga asked me to, not because it would please him."

"Well obviously if he asked you to try your hair like that it would please him!" Inuyasha said, climbing to his feet.

Kagome had had enough of his attitude. "Look, just because I said that I would try something that someone thought would look nice on me doesn't mean I'm doing it to please them! I can try out suggestions you know!"

Kagome's finger was poking him in the chest and each poke was getting a little rougher. Inuyasha grabbed the finger that was incessantly poking him and looked her in the eye. "Kagome, if he ever does anything, I want to know alright?"

Kagome sighed and nodded, letting Inuyasha wrap his arms around her.


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: Now this is a long chapter, mostly because there are three songs used in it. Scandalous by Mis-Teeq, Rock Your Body by Justin Timberlake and Dirrty by Christina Aguilera. I don't own any of those songs, but I used them to convey certain feelings. This is the true origins of all the sexual tension between Kagome and Inuyasha in future chapters of this story. Because of the no song lyrics rule, you can see the way the chapter was meant to be read at this site: http /www . geocities . com/ gerrysmistress / ioto08 . html(remove the spaces to get it to work).**

**While some of this stuff may seem a little unbelievable since they are best friends, it CAN happen, trust me, I've seen it happen quite often. Now I don't really remember what the legal age is in Japan, here in Canada where I live it's 18 and I have been to a few all age parties where they serve alcohol and use certain measures to ensure no underage drinking happens.**

**Anyway, all of your reviews have been much appreciated, keep them coming!**

**I don't own any of the characters of Inuyasha, no matter how much I try to intimidate people into saying I do :P**

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Kagome and Inuyasha entered the club, looking around for their friends. They quickly found Sango and Ayume dancing on the floor while Eri and Yuka talked to some guys on the side of the dance floor. Miroku was waving to them from a table and Kouga was standing at the bar with his wolf buddies. 

Inuyasha heard Kagome's groan when she noticed the intoxicated state of her boyfriend. "You could just ignore him you know." Inuyasha told her.

Kagome shook her head. "No, I should probably go and at least say hi, that way he won't cause a scene if he sees me."

Inuyasha watched sadly as she walked away before joining Miroku at the table. "I swear if he hurts one hair on her head." He muttered.

"Oh Inuyasha, relax." Miroku said, lounging comfortably as he watched Sango dance. "He's so drunk it won't take long for Kagome to come back."

Kagome approached Kouga and his friends, wincing at their loud obnoxious comments about some girl standing at the other end. _Why do I put up with this?_ She pondered as she made her way over to him.

Kouga slurred her name loudly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He offered to buy her a drink which only made her roll her eyes and push his arm away. Kouga didn't seem to notice his girlfriend's annoyance as he tried to lean in to kiss her. Kagome turned her head at the last minute, making his lips graze her cheek instead.

After visiting with her boyfriend for what seemed like a decent amount of time Kagome ordered herself and Inuyasha something to drink and slipped away, wandering back to her friends. She slid into the booth, handing Inuyasha a bottle of water and said hello to everyone.

"I'm sorry Kagome, I tried to get him to promise not to drink tonight." Sango told her friend.

"It's alright, I doubt he would have promised me either." Kagome said, not failing to notice the way that Inuyasha tensed. "Come on Sango, let's go dance, I need to work off some tension."

Sango nodded and followed her friend out to the floor, leaving Miroku and Inuyasha alone once more. "I hate him so much." Inuyasha muttered.

"Why does Kagome put up with it?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha shrugged. "She's afraid of what he might do if she breaks up with him." Inuyasha told his friend. "And I can't help but agree with her, that he might do something stupid."

Inuyasha was about to say something else when the song changed and Miroku's head automatically snapped to the dance floor. "Oh thank the heavens!"

Inuyasha gave him a questioning look. "What are you going on about?"

"My friend, what you are about to see will take away all anger." Miroku said. "Hell, it will take away all thought process."

Inuyasha turned his head to the dance floor and watched as Sango said something to Kagome, who threw her head back and laughed. The two girls moved closer to each other.

Inuyasha almost swallowed his tongue when Kagome pressed her back to Sango's front. Sango wrapped her arms around her friend and the two of them began to sway to the beat.

Kagome worked her self loose from Sango's grip and swayed downwards, running her hands along the thighs of the girl behind her. "When the hell did those two start learning to dance like that?" Inuyasha demanded.

Miroku's face broke out into a grin. "Remember awhile back we had that dance unit in Gym class?" Inuyasha nodded. "This was the dance that Kagome and Sango came up with."

Inuyasha continued to stare, fighting the urge to drool as Sango spun Kagome around so that the two girls were facing each other. With each beat the two girls moved the opposite direction of the other, all the while talking and laughing.

"How come I've never seen this dance before?" Inuyasha asked.

"Because you had to take Shippou to the doctors that day." Miroku told him, causing the Hanyou to curse.

Both boys felt their jaws drop as Sango stuck her leg between Kagome's and Kagome rocked to the music on it. Sango had her arms around Kagome as the two of them continued to dance a little more provocatively.

Kagome broke away from Sango and circled her friend, trailing her hand around the taller girl's body. She stepped back against Sango and allowed her friend to grab her hips, pulling her body flush once more.

Kagome's hand reached up and grabbed the back of Sango's head as the two of them continued to grind against each other. Inuyasha could feel his Youkai blood surfacing and was sure he felt his pants tighten a bit.

"I hope Kouga isn't watching this, or Kagome could be in real trouble." Miroku said. "Hell, Sango's in real trouble if I get her alone."

The two girls repeated their previous actions and as Kagome spun around to face her friend she glanced over at the table. She threw her hands above her head and motioned to Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Don't leave me alone with him." Sango said with a laugh.

Miroku looked more than ready to jump up and sandwich himself between the two females, Kagome was slightly surprised that he didn't. "I just hope that Kouga doesn't see this." She said over the music. "If he sees any guy looking at me in that way he freaks out."

"Well, he might have to fight Inuyasha if that's the case." Sango said. "Check it."

Kagome glanced over at her best friend and was surprised to see his eyes glowing slightly red in the dark light of the club. She glanced back to Sango and couldn't help but grin.

Inuyasha's head perked to attention as Kagome danced slightly away from Sango. She stared at him and he definitely felt a familiar tug in his groin. Miroku glanced at him when he let out a soft moan.

"Are you alright?" He asked Inuyasha.

Inuyasha shook his head and buried his face in his hands. "I'm never going to be able to look at my best friend the same way again." He muttered.

Inuyasha was never so relieved to hear a song end and peeked out between his fingers to see Kagome and Sango walking back towards them. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he groaned to see that Kikyo had shown up and had placed herself and her boyfriend in his field of vision. Inuyasha looked over at Kagome as she threw herself into the booth beside him.

"That was quite the performance." He muttered.

Kagome shot him a glare before snatching away his water bottle and glancing at the bar. She was shocked to see that Kouga was no longer drinking, he had disappeared somewhere. "Where's Kouga?" She asked, finishing the water.

"I didn't realize that it was my job to watch your boyfriend." He snapped.

"Inuyasha." Kagome said softly, making him cringe. "What the fuck is your problem?"

She saw his eyebrows twitch in amusement and knew he was fighting a grin. For reasons completely unknown to her, he found it hilarious when she cursed. He finally sighed and slumped back against the booth.

"Want to know what my problem is?" He said suddenly. "That is my problem."

Kagome followed his gaze and saw Kikyo and her new toy dancing. Inuyasha could have sworn that he saw Kagome's hair bristle as she glared at his ex girlfriend.

"Oh no she doesn't." Kagome muttered as a new song blared over the speakers. Kagome grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the booth. "Come on."

"What are you doing?" He asked as she pulled him out to the floor.

"You and I both know that the one thing that will drive her up the wall is to see us together." Kagome told him, finding a spot near Kikyo. She tightened her grip on his hand as he tried to walk away.

"Kagome, this is petty!" He told her. "Besides, what about Kouga? If he sees us dancing he'll get pissed off."

"Fuck Kouga." Kagome said turning and pressing her back to his chest. "He's probably passed out somewhere anyway!"

Inuyasha was growing very uncomfortable with the position he and Kagome were in. He had already wanted to throw her to the floor and have his way with her when he had watched her dancing with Sango. Now having her pressed against him so intimately was sending his brain into a fit.

He kept his hand resting on her hip that is until he noticed that Kikyo was definitely watching them. He smirked at her and pulled Kagome tighter against his body. If smoke could have come out of Kikyo's ears it would have.

Kagome gasped when she felt his hard body pressed against hers. She knew that Inuyasha worked out on a regular basis, but she hadn't realized what the full extent of his work outs had done to him.

_Kouga's body isn't anywhere close to being this hott. _She thought to herself before giving herself a mental slap. _Get a grip girl, this is your best friend you're thinking about here!_

Inuyasha smirked as Kikyo's eyes all but popped out of her head. He had always known that she was jealous of Kagome, but he didn't think that her jealousy was that deep. Kikyo looked about ready to run over and bitch slap Kagome into the next century.

He jumped slightly when he felt Kagome's hand slide up and cup the side of his face, much like she had done with Sango. He assumed that she had done it out of habit, until her hand continued up and brushed against his ear.

A bolt of electricity seemed to rush through his body, starting where her fingers touched him. With a growl he spun Kagome around to face him and pulled her tighter to his body.

Kagome had been caught off guard by his growl, but she was even more shocked when his hand firmly grabbed her butt. For a minute she wondered if Miroku had cut in. Inuyasha had never acted this way, not that she was about to complain.

Kagome glanced over her shoulder and saw that Kikyo was definitely pissed off. Kagome smirked and sent her a look that clearly said: "Serves you right, bitch."

Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha in shock when she felt one of his legs push between hers, much like Sango had done earlier. He was staring down at her intensely but she mistook the look of mischief and lust for something else completely.

They had never danced together before, unless you counted two minutes of a slow song back in middle school. Even then their dance had been only to appease their parents and it was quickly cut off when a speaker blew.

Back at the table Sango and Miroku were staring at their friends in shock. They wouldn't technically label what Inuyasha and Kagome were doing as dancing. The way that Kagome was rocking against Inuyasha's body was starting to give both Sango and Miroku some very creative ideas.

"Is it just me or is that kind of hott?" Sango asked her boyfriend.

Miroku nodded his mouth suddenly dry. They both jumped when Kouga appeared and slid into the booth beside them. Sango pressed her hand to her heart, feeling like she had just been caught doing something wrong.

Kouga turned his glassy eyes to the duo sitting across from him. They both knew that in his drunken condition he couldn't truly recognize their scents or who they were. He mostly recognized the familiar feel of companionship coming from them. "Where's Kagome?"

"On the floor with Sango." Miroku said quickly. The last thing that they needed was Kouga to turn and see Kagome and Inuyasha all but sexing each other up on the dance floor. At least if he turned and could make them out, maybe his drunken mind would convince him that she was grinding against Sango, something that Miroku found himself concentrating on very hard.

Sango noticed the look on her boyfriend's face and she rolled her eyes. She glanced over to the dance floor and gasped as Kagome and Inuyasha's movements had become much more provocative as the song changed.

"Who's this then?" Kouga demanded, staring at Sango.

"I'm Miroku." Sango said quickly. The wolf's eyes narrowed as if he was trying to see her clearly. She said a silent prayer to the heavens that he wouldn't succeed.

"And I'm Inuyasha." Miroku said quickly. "Or at least I wish I was."

Sango glared at him as Kouga's head dropped to the table, signaling that he had passed out. "Thank the Gods." The couple muttered, turning their attention back to their friends.

Kagome's arms were now around Inuyasha's neck and she had his ears between her fingers. From time to time she would press them just right and Inuyasha's eyes would roll up towards the back of his head.

Kikyo was now moving around the couple, trying to figure out a way to cut in between them. The entire time she and Inuyasha had dated she had never been able to cause him to look like that. She moved up behind Inuyasha and put her hand on his hip, pressing her body against his back.

Miroku was slightly surprised when a scowl crossed Inuyasha's face. After all he was in a position that most guys would give their left testicle to be in.

Kagome turned in his arms and pressed her backside against his crotch and swiveled her hips. She could feel exactly what her body was doing to him and even though she knew she should be caught off guard or something, she felt excited. She was tired of fighting the attraction she had felt for Inuyasha since they had hit puberty and he had grown out of his awkward stage. She had to admit that her best friend had grown up nicely.

Inuyasha moaned as Kagome kept teasing him. He could still feel Kikyo pressed against his back and had it not been for the fact that he knew how heartless she could be, he would have been aroused even more by her presence. Kagome turned back to face him and she rocked her hips against his body.

He could make out her lips moving to the words of the song and thinking about words like that falling from those lips made him shiver. She swiveled her hips as she moved down his body, much like she had done earlier when dancing with Sango. He gasped as her hands passed over his legs and the now growing bulge in his pants.

She moved back up and wrapped her arms around his neck again. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, biting the flesh there in a gentle and teasing manner. For now, the feeling of Kikyo pressed against his back was completely forgotten as he concentrated on Kagome.

Sango turned to look at Miroku whose eyes were starting to glaze over in arousal. "Miroku?" She asked, touching his arm.

Miroku turned his gaze to his girlfriend and Sango couldn't help but shudder. "What?" He asked, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. If he and Sango had been in Inuyasha and Kagome's position, Miroku would have long ago swept her up in his arms and taken her back home with him.

"Do you think that maybe we should go out there and pull them apart?" Sango asked. "You know, before they do something that they might regret?"

Miroku shook his head. "No. I have a feeling that they are both well aware of what they're doing." Miroku told her. "Maybe this will make them pull their heads out of their asses and see what we've seen since we were kids."

Sango nodded. She might not necessarily agree with him, but she knew he had a point. Ever since the day that Kagome had dragged him over to her small group of friends in elementary she knew the two of them would end up married. When ever they played house, Kagome always made Inuyasha be her husband. Of course he never really had much choice, being the only boy.

Kagome's hands were back up on Inuyasha's ears, her lips dangerously close to his. Kikyo noticed this and had a feeling that if she didn't intervene quickly, she wouldn't be able to get the one thing she had wanted when she and Inuyasha were together.

While she had known that Inuyasha had never had a girlfriend when they first started dating, he had quickly learned how to please her. And he had been damn skilful at it. She had had every intention of making him take her to bed the night that they had broken up. She hadn't ever thought that he would find out about the long distance boyfriend she had kept on the side.

Kikyo's hands slowly began to move up towards his ears. She had always figured that they would be the one thing that would make his resolve crumble, but he had always refused to let her touch them. It always made her furious to know that Kagome could touch them and not her.

She was about to close her hand around Inuyasha's ears when Kagome spotted her intentions. Kagome's hands moved from his ears to the back of his head and pulled his head roughly down to hers. It was a move that shocked everyone, including the two people involved in the kiss.

Sango's jaw dropped and she made a choking sound. She was caught off guard by her friend's bold move, but she was also impressed. "I'm confused." Miroku said, watching them. "Why is she kissing him?"

Sango shook her head. "I dunno, maybe she got really caught up in the moment." When Kikyo moved to pull Inuyasha away, Kagome changed the angle of her head, deepening the kiss slightly. "Or she's just being overly possessive."

Miroku shook his head and hoped that Kouga wouldn't choose that exact moment to rouse himself from his drunken stupor. Both he and Sango watched as Inuyasha finally got over his shock and wrapped his arms around Kagome, taking control of the kiss.

"You know for two people who are making out on the dance floor, they sure are clueless about their attraction to each other." Sango said, silently hoping that the bulging vein in Kikyo's neck would pop.

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked.

"Oh come on, you know perfectly well that the moment we bring this up they'll go into denial." Sango said as Inuyasha pulled away. His hand clasped Kagome's and he pulled her off the dance floor.

Sango and Miroku waited for their friends to re join them and were more than shocked when Inuyasha simply snatched Kagome's jacket and purse from the seat as they passed. Kagome didn't seem to even notice the movement, since her eyes were focused solely on the Hanyou in front of her.

"Oh shit." Sango said, grabbing her own things.

She climbed over Kouga's unconscious form and quickly followed her friends out. Miroku stared after her in shock before sighing and following suit. He knew his girlfriend had good intentions, but he knew that this was something that Inuyasha and Kagome needed to experience.


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: Okay so here's the next chapter. Is there a** **lemon or lime HAHAHAHA I'm evil** **and won't tell you, you have to read on and find out!**

**Also Kristin of** **www . kristinsstudio . com** (remove spaces) **has graciously allowed me to use some of her drawings that have brought me some inspiration. Please note she did not draw these specifically for me, in fact I think some of them are for other stories, but the pictures show exactly what it is that I'm trying to convey. Please comment them on her site.**

**This Chapters Inspiration:**

**http//i2 . photobucket . com/ albums / y9 / ralphlauren83 /outside/ IKSpoonBW . jpg** **(removespaces) **

**http/i2 . photobucket . com/ albums / y9 / ralphlauren83 / outside/ EarTouchBW . jpg**

**(remove spaces)**

**As always I don't own Inuyasha and I'm so pleased that all of you are enjoying the story! Keep those awesome reviews coming!

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Inuyasha pulled Kagome along behind him, his rational voice was screaming for him to come to his senses and stop what he was doing, but his demon blood was over powering the voice. Kagome on the other hand was silently kicking her conscious in the butt to get it to shut up. The two of them were so intent on each other and the feelings that their dancing had surfaced that they didn't notice Miroku and Sango following them.

When they reached Inuyasha's car he quickly pressed Kagome up against it and claimed her lips once more. Sango was about to move forward and suggest that Kagome get a ride home from her when Miroku pulled her back.

"Miroku!" Sango hissed in anger.

"Let them be Sango." Miroku warned, giving Inuyasha enough time to let Kagome into the car.

Sango snarled at Miroku as Inuyasha pulled out of the parking lot and headed for his house. "You better hope they don't do anything they might regret or else you'll be finding some regrets of your own!"

Miroku ignored Sango's comment and pulled her towards his own car. "Come on, you can give me my birthday present a day early."

Sango couldn't help but grin, even as she rolled her eyes. "You pervert."

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Kagome was surprised that they made to Inuyasha's house in one piece. Every time they pulled up to a red light he would pull her in for a hungry kiss. She loved kissing Inuyasha, Kouga's kisses were nice, like a cool rainstorm after a hot day, but Inuyasha's kiss was the one that she had been craving the whole time. 

When they got to Inuyasha's house she silently thanked the heavens that his mother wasn't home. She usually stayed up to make sure that Inuyasha got home safely, and the sight of the two teenagers groping each other surely would have had them both grounded until they were in their forties.

Inuyasha kicked the front door shut and toed his shoes off. He reached down and pulled up one of Kagome's legs, unzipping her calf high boot. He kissed down her leg as he slid the boot off then turned to lavish the same attention on her other leg. With that done he gripped her by the hips and lifted her from the ground.

Kagome wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her hands in his hair as he brought their lips back together. How he got up the stairs without falling and breaking his neck was beyond her. It wasn't long before she felt the softness of his mattress below her back and his tongue against her throat.

The growl that ripped from his throat snapped Kagome back to reality almost violently. "Inuyasha." She whispered.

"Shh, don't think." He muttered in her ear.

"No Inuyasha we have to stop this!" Kagome pleaded, reluctantly.

Because his demon blood could hear the reluctance in her voice, it wasn't soothed; instead it only made him press against her, showing exactly how much he desired her. Kagome momentarily allowed herself to become lost in the pleasure of the situation, but the sudden feeling of Inuyasha's hand on her breast, beneath her shirt, made her do the one thing that she knew would grab his attention.

Inuyasha yelped as she tweaked his ear painfully. He reached up to rub his ear, or at least attempted to and was surprised to find his hand was trapped by her shirt. His eyes went wide and he quickly slid away from her.

"I'm so sorry!" He told her, running a hand over his pink face.

Kagome sighed and sat up, pulling her knees under her. She reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. "It's alright; I kind of started it back in the club."

Inuyasha frowned and nodded. He was in a very compromising position, his human side was screaming for him to respect her and not to carry on anymore. His demon side was screaming for him to continue and all the while all he could think about was the fact that she had responded to him. He knew that she wanted him as much as he wanted her, but they were obviously afraid of jeopardizing their friendship.

Kagome sighed and let go of his hand. She climbed off the bed and called her mother to tell her that she would be spending the night at Inuyasha's. After promising to be home at a half decent time in the morning she hung up the phone and turned back to Inuyasha.

"I'm going to go take a shower, would you mind if I borrowed some clothes?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, just grab a pair of pyjama pants." He told her. "In fact, I think that there's a shirt of yours in the top drawer."

Kagome dug through the clothes, finding the sports bra he was referring to. "Why do you have this?" She teased, twirling the article of clothing around her finger.

"You left it here; I just haven't had a chance to return it to you. I keep forgetting it's in there." Inuyasha said, hoping his tone sounded indifferent. "You should have seen my mom's face when she found that in the laundry pile."

Kagome laughed. She could only imagine the expression on Kohana's face. Kagome shook her head and walked from the room, still chuckling. Inuyasha grabbed some fresh clothes and walked to his mother's room to do the same thing. He took a quick shower, mostly to calm himself and clean away the guilt that was still nagging at him.

He beat Kagome back to the room and crawled under his covers. He lay on his side and waited patiently for her to return. She stepped back into his room, towelling her hair dry. She hung the damp towel over the back of his chair before turning to face him.

Kagome could tell that he was shirtless and that made her swallow the lump that rose in her throat. He lifted the covers and allowed her to slide in beside him. He pulled her to him, his right arm sliding under her head and his left going around her waist. Kagome tucked his arm under hers and placed her hand on the arm under her head.

For now the two teens would have to be content to lay like that with each other. Each one lost in their own thoughts about what could have happened had Kagome not regained control of the situation. They sighed miserably in unison as sleep overtook them.

* * *

Inuyasha's ear twitching was what woke him up the following morning. He could feel a soft tickle on his ear before it would flick away. "Stop that." He growled to Kagome. 

At some point they had switched positions during the night and she was currently inflicting her favourite morning torture on him, playing with his ears. "No." She said simply.

"Look you can touch it, just stop with those tickles." He snapped.

Kagome laughed and massaged his ear quietly. She was lost in her thoughts of the previous night. Part of her felt like kicking her own ass for stopping it, but her logical part told her that it had been a good thing.

"Inuyasha, about last night," Kagome started.

Inuyasha pulled his ear from her grasp and rolled over, pulling her to him. "How about we just forget that it happened and let things go back to normal?"

Kagome bit her lip and nodded, allowing herself to drift back to sleep, safe in the arms of her best friend.


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: Okay nothing really to explain about this chp. Don't own Inuyasha only original characters and situations. PLEASE be sure to read the authors note in the next chapter because I don't want to have to explain 20 million times why I wrote it the way I wrote it.**

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Kagome rolled her eyes as Kouga drank down another beer. Inuyasha came up beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You okay?"

"What you mean aside from the fact that my asshole boyfriend is ruining my 18th birthday?" She asked bitterly. "I'm just peachy."

Inuyasha stared at Kouga as he said something that made his wolf buddies howl with laughter. "Do you want to leave?" He asked her. "We can grab Sango and Miroku and just head back to my place."

Kagome shrugged and turned to face him. "I'm seriously thinking that it's time for me to break up with Kouga."

Inuyasha stared down at her in shock. "Really? Why?"

They both turned back when Kouga yelled something obnoxious to Yuka. "Does that answer your question?"

Inuyasha studied Kagome, knowing that something had to have happened to push her to this point. Hell, just a few months ago she had been terrified to think of what Kouga might do when she told him it was over.

"He's always been like that though." Inuyasha said. "What's the real reason?"

Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples. This was neither the time nor the place that she had hoped to have to explain her reasons to him. She had hoped that he would have nodded, rubbed her back and told her that she was making the right decision. Obviously, fate decided to kick her in the ass once more.

Inuyasha noticed her scent spike with worry and he grabbed her arm. He led her out of the house and into the spacious backyard. He walked with her until they were standing under a large tree. Only when he was sure that she would not try to walk away did he release his hold on her.

"Alright, what happened?" He asked.

Kagome sighed. "I'll tell you as long as you promise me not to get how you get."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha demanded.

"You know what it means." Kagome said, wrapping her arms around him. "You'll go all dominant dog on me."

"Why are you hugging me?"

"Because I know that you aren't going to like what I have to tell you." She said. "Move the hair away from the base of my neck."

Inuyasha gave Kagome a questioning look before doing as he was told. He brushed the hair away, ignoring the way her body shivered as his fingers caressed her neck. He noticed a large bruise on her skin and briefly wondered why she was making such a big deal. "You have a hickey, so what?"

"Look closer Inuyasha." Kagome said, holding onto him tighter.

Inuyasha squinted at the dark mark. He realized that he was not looking at a bruise. What he was looking at was a kanji, one that while faded he recognized immediately. "He tried to mark you!"

Kagome nodded. "He didn't get to finish because I refused to sleep with him."

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome and crushed her to him. "Hold onto me really tight Kagome. Depending on how you answer me, I might just try to kill him."

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to fight her tears. She knew exactly what he was about to ask her, and he was right, he would probably try to kill Kouga. "Yes, he tried to force me."

She could feel every muscle in his body tighten like a coil. She did not realize that Kouga had stepped out of the house, but Inuyasha had caught his scent, making him even tenser.

"Oye! Dog breath! Get your hands off my woman!" Kouga shouted.

Kagome winced when his voice reached them and Inuyasha's grip tightened even more on her body. "Your woman?" Inuyasha snarled.

"That's right, I marked her, she's mine for life!" Kouga slurred.

Inuyasha began to laugh maniacally, a sound that terrified Kagome. "You think that little bruise would ever be considered as a mark?" He sneered. "You know as well as I do that Hanyou's and Youkai are not allowed to take a mate by force!"

Kagome buried her face in Inuyasha's chest. She silently prayed that his deepened voice wasn't his demon blood rising to the surface. So far, they had managed to keep his Youkai soothed. Whenever any sign of his demon blood taking over, Kagome would be at his side, stroking his ears and whispering soft words while he listened to her heart beat. Right now, she wasn't sure if she had the strength to keep him from going berserk.

"It wasn't by force." Kouga said, leaping towards them. "The bitch liked it."

Inuyasha pulled Kagome behind him protectively and growled at Kouga. "Don't you ever call her that again!"

Kagome tugged on Inuyasha's arm. "Please, let's just leave, just take me home."

Kouga watched Inuyasha's expression soften when Kagome talked to him. Kouga burst out laughing, making the two of them turn back to him. "I get why you're doing this!" Kouga said, pointing a clawed finger at Inuyasha. "You're in love with her! You want to claim her for yourself!"

Kagome stared at Inuyasha in shock. By now, most of the people at the party had left the house to watch the fight that they were sure was coming. "Of course I love her you idiot!" Inuyasha yelled. "She's my best friend!"

Kagome didn't know why, but it hurt her to hear him say that. "You're in some serious denial man." Kouga told him. "Now get your hands off her before I come over there and rip them off."

Kagome had no time to stop Inuyasha from growling and attacking Kouga. The aggressive move shocked everyone, including the one person the attack was intended for. Sango quickly rushed over and grabbed Kagome when she tried to run over to stop the two angry males from fighting.

"Sango, please let me go!" Kagome pleaded.

"No Kagome!" Sango said. She knew what Kouga had done and she was more than happy to let Inuyasha rip Kouga to shreds for it. "If Inuyasha wins this fight, then Kouga has no right to claim you anymore."

"But won't that mean that Inuyasha claims Kagome according to Youkai law?" Miroku asked, coming up beside them.

"I don't care!" Kagome said. "With his temper flaring the way it is he could become full demon, then we're all in danger!"

"What?" Miroku and Sango asked in unison.

Kagome didn't respond, she was too distracted by the action in front of her. Inuyasha and Kouga were circling each other and snarling. Kouga was the first to attack. His years of running track made him fast and light on his feet. Inuyasha easily side stepped the attack. The two boys spun to face each other and this time Inuyasha charged, tackling Kouga to the ground.

Demon law denied Kouga the right to turn into his true demon form in front of mortals. Since he was a full-demon, a microchip had been embedded in his body at birth. If he transformed it would send out for a sensor that would record any human signatures around him. If he broke the law, even in self-defence he could be executed for putting mortals in danger.

The same rules did not apply to Inuyasha. Hanyou's had a special law that allowed them to take on their demon forms. This was mostly because they didn't really have control over their demon blood. Many Hanyou's had been killed for taking on their demon forms, but that was only because they were so far gone that they had no hope of turning back.

Because of this, Kouga was no match for Inuyasha. His instincts to protect Kagome and sent him into a blind rage. Kouga's eyes widened as Inuyasha's eyes turned a bright red. His golden eyes were now blue and jagged purplecrests began to appear on his cheeks. Kouga quickly shoved Inuyasha off him and jumped to his feet.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He demanded.

Inuyasha snarled and bared his fangs that were much longer then they had been. Inuyasha ran at Kouga, this time closing his hand around his neck. Inuyasha's claws broke into the delicate skin as Kouga's windpipe began to close.

Kagome had enough and broke away from Sango, using a strength she didn't realize she possessed. She ran for Inuyasha and grabbed his wrist, trying to pry his fingers from the gasping Kouga. Inuyasha never seemed to notice her presence.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried. "Please, stop this!"

She dropped his hand and threw her weight against his chest, hoping that maybe she could knock him off balance. The only thing he did was raise his hand and grab her arm roughly. His claws imbedded into her skin, making Kagome cry out in pain. That sound, along with the smell of her blood and tears snapped Inuyasha back to reality. He instantly released the two people his claws held and stared down at Kagome.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha said in surprise. "Oh God, are you alright?"

Kagome winced as she touched her arm, but she quickly reached over and pulled Inuyasha to her. Her fingers automatically went to his ears, needing them to help calm her fears.

"I'm fine."

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to lose control like that!"

Kagome held him like he was her lifeline. "It's okay, just get me out of here."

Inuyasha nodded and lead her away from Kouga. Miroku and Sango followed, wanting to know exactly what it was that they had just witnessed.

Inuyasha glance over at them, a sad look on his face. "Why don't you guys head to my place. Kagome and I will be there soon."

Miroku nodded. "What do we tell your mom?"

"Just tell her the party was a bust and Kagome decided she just wanted to celebrate with us." Inuyasha told them as he helped Kagome into his car.

"Where are you two going?" Sango asked.

"I need to talk to someone."


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: Okay, this chapter introduces Sesshomaru. Now a little note about something VERY important. People are probably going to jump down my throat for Sesshomaru being OOC, not that every other character hasn't been LOL. Anyway, I have a theory behind Sesshomaru that makes me think that what happens with this chapter.**

**My Sesshomaru theory is as follows: I think that although Sesshomaru hates humans, if they can provide him with some sort of amusement or can show him that they serve some purpose then he learns to tolerate them…case in point…Rin. I don't think that it's a mask that he puts on to show that he's powerful, I think he does truly hate humans, but can make an exception as long as they have a purpose for him.**

**So when you read this chapter, keep that theory in mind and don't scream at me for writing Sesshomaru the way that I did.**

**As always, I don't own the Inuyasha franchise, though with all the damn merchandise that I own I should have bloody shares in the thing!**

**Read and Review, because they make me happy.**

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Inuyasha punched in the code to the gate and drove up the long elaborate driveway. Kagome knew where they had gone, but Inuyasha refused to tell her why. They climbed out of the car and made their way up to the large front door. Before Inuyasha could even raise his hand, the door opened. A tall figure snarled down at them. 

"What do you want little brother?" A smooth voice demanded.

"Save it Sesshomaru." Inuyasha said, shoving his way past his older half brother.

"How dare you enter without my permission!" Sesshomaru growled.

Whatever he had planned to say next was lost as the scent of Kagome's blood filled his nostrils. Even if he would never admit it, he had a soft spot for Kagome. When she and Inuyasha were children, he often took care of them as a favour to his stepmother. Kagome had kept him entertained for hours. If she wasn't harassing Inuyasha, she was torturing Jaken, Sesshomaru's personal aide.

One time Jaken slapped the girl so hard, his tiny claws had cut her face and Sesshomaru had been the only "adult" for her to go to. It had taken her several minutes to find him, but eventually located him in his study.

_Sesshomaru heard small feet coming his way. He half expected to hear Jaken's whiny voice complaining about his half brother and his human friend. To say he was shocked to find the mortal child sitting in his lap was an understatement. _

_He could smell the salt of her tears along with the sweet tangy smell of her blood as she buried her face in his shirt. He sat in shock, not knowing how to comfort a human child. He eventually grabbed her arms gently and held her at arms length._

_Kagome's eyes widened when she heard a growl escape his throat. "What happened?" He demanded as more blood trickled down her cheek. If his little brother had given her those marks, he would correct the whelp for using his claws._

_"Jaken slapped me and told me I was an in-ins-inso…" Kagome sighed in frustration, not knowing how to say the word._

_"Insolent." Sesshomaru said in a surprisingly gentle tone._

_"An insolent child." She sobbed._

_"Why did Jaken slap you?"_

_"Inuyasha and I were building a tent and we needed a pole so I took Jaken's staff. I didn't think he'd miss it!" Kagome told him. "I tried to ask him for it but he told me to take what I needed and to get out of his sight."_

_Sesshomaru gently took her chin in his clawed hand and turned her cheek towards him so he could see the gashes better. He was surprised that the child had no fear of him. In fact, he found that her scent was filled with comfort; he was soothing the small child, something he hadn't expected._

_He growled again, when he realized that the gashes were deep and would normally require stitches. Not wanting to cause the child any more pain, he gently brought her cheek to his lips. Kagome giggled as Sesshomaru's tongue swiped against the deep cuts._

_"Are you kissing my owie better?" She giggled again._

_A rare smile broke out on Sesshomaru's face and he stood. He carried the small child to a mirror in the hall and had her look into it. "There, all better."_

_Kagome gasped as the last of her cuts disappeared. "Is it magic?"_

_Sesshomaru nodded. "Yes, my kisses are magic." He told her._

_There was no way of explaining to her that because he was a full-blooded demon, his saliva contained healing powers. For now, he was content in letting the child believe that he was magical._

Sesshomaru had literally beaten Jaken within an inch of his life. From then on, he had always been a silent threat to anyone who dared hurt Kagome. It surprised Inuyasha that Kouga would do what he had done, he knew that Sesshomaru protected Kagome.

"Kagome, go to Rin's room, I know the child would love to see you." Sesshomaru said through clenched teeth.

He had found Rin eating out of a dumpster and had taken the child in after learning that her heroin-addicted parents had abandoned her. Rin had taken a shine to Kagome and quite often begged Sesshomaru to take her to the shrine so that she could visit her.

Kagome left the room and Sesshomaru waited until she was out of earshot before turning to his brother. "Why is she bleeding?"

Inuyasha looked down, clearly ashamed. "My claws bit into her skin."

Inuyasha gasped as he felt the wall slam into his back. Sesshomaru's hand was around his throat and he was sure his brother would kill him. "Why!"

"K-Kouga!" Inuyasha gasped as his brother's hand tightened around his windpipe. "I was fighting Kouga."

Sesshomaru dropped his brother to the ground and walked away. "Start explaining!"

Inuyasha rubbed his now tender throat. "Kouga tried to claim Kagome against her will!" Inuyasha told his brother. "He tried to force himself on her."

Sesshomaru's lips pulled back in a snarl that shocked his younger brother. Inuyasha knew that Sesshomaru protected Kagome, but he had always thought that it was out of some unknown promise to their father.

"Did he mark her?" Sesshomaru asked through his clenched teeth.

"Yeah."

Sesshomaru now understood the purpose of his brother's visit. "Did you at least win the fight?" He asked as he stood.

"You better believe I did."

Sesshomaru led his brother towards Rin's room. "You have claiming rights now."

Inuyasha turned pink and nodded. "I know that, but I won't claim her."

"Interesting." Inuyasha heard him mutter.

They entered the room and saw Kagome patiently allowing Rin to braid her hair. "Hello Inuyasha!" Rin said happily.

She abandoned Kagome's hair for Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru took the opportunity to go to Kagome. "Where is it?" He demanded.

Kagome moved the hair away from the back of her neck and showed him the mark. "I assume you mean this?"

Sesshomaru growled low in his throat and realized that the bruising meant Kouga had not been gentle. "Is this the only one?"

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha before shaking her head and holding up four fingers. "That's how many there are including this one."

Sesshomaru's growl turned into a full-blown snarl causing Inuyasha to look at them. "Come with me." He demanded. "Inuyasha you stay here."

Inuyasha moved to argue but was stopped by the pleading look on Kagome's face. Sighing he leaned his head back to allow Rin better access to his hair. He watched Kagome follow silently behind Sesshomaru and figured that his brother wanted to ask Kagome some questions before he got rid of the mark.

Inuyasha wished that he had the ability to heal the wound like Sesshomaru did. He was at least thankful that it would not scar this way and he would not have to mark her himself to rid her body of Kouga's kanji.

"Ow, don't tug too hard!" He warned Rin who adjusted her grip and happily continued what she was doing.

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Once they were in his study, Sesshomaru dimmed the lights to preserve some of her modesty. She had told him along the way what Kouga had done.

"He just ripped my clothes off and started biting my skin." She told him, rubbing her arms. "He bit the inside of my thigh, my right breast, the back of my neck and the small of my back. I could feel his fingers drawing something on my skin and then he tried to take me."

Sesshomaru could hear the same and embarrassment in her voice. He rounded on her quickly and grasped her arms, much like he used to when she was a child.

"Don't you dare blame yourself!" He said with a growl. "I can get rid of the marks for you if you wish."

Kagome bit her lip in contemplation. "Would you use your magic kiss?"

She could have sworn that she saw Sesshomaru's mouth twitch into a smile. "You remember that?"

Kagome nodded. "I also remember why you say you tolerate me."

_Kagome was huddled in a cave, her legs pulled up as she tried to keep warm. She had gotten separated from her class trip and was lost in the woods. It had begun to rain and she had sought shelter from the cold._

_She wiped at her tears and silently wished that someone would come find her. She heard movement outside the cave and stiffened. She briefly wondered if she was going to die. All of her fears were washed away when Sesshomaru's face appeared. She could see relief wash through his features as she threw herself into his arms._

_"Sesshomaru!" She cried happily._

_He cradled the small child to his body and petted her hair while she cried in relief. Akina had called him, frantically asking if perhaps she was with him. After learning what happened he had rushed out to help find her._

_"Kagome you need to stop wandering away like you do." He scolded gently as they approached a clearing where he hoped to find the others._

_"I'm so glad you came for me!" Kagome told him. "I thought no one would ever come!"_

_He walked slowly as the small girl played with his long silver hair. He allowed her body to steal some of his warmth and growled low in his throat to soothe her._

_"Sesshomaru, why do you hate humans?" Kagome asked after several quiet minutes._

_Sesshomaru sighed, now knowing how to answer her. "Humans are the reason my mother died."_

_"Do you hate me?" She asked softly._

_"No." He told her, holding her closer to his body. "You're too kind hearted. Besides, no one else can put Jaken through as much torture as you do."_

"So would you like for me to get rid of the marks for you?"

Kagome bit her bottom lip and nodded. She followed him into the study and relaxed when he lowered the lights. She knew perfectly well that he would still be able to see her, but she felt more at ease knowing that he made the effort to make her more comfortable.

"Sit down." He told her gently. "You need to remove any clothing that might be covering the marks."

Kagome was positive that her blush was lighting up the room as she pulled her top off. Sesshomaru waited patiently with his back to her. Kagome was finally undressed and she sat down on the desk, figuring that it would give him the best access to the marks.

"Okay, I'm ready." Kagome whispered so softly that he almost missed it.

"You do know that you can just let them heal." He told her.

"No, I want them gone."

Sesshomaru moved behind her, deciding to get the ones on her back first. He silently wished that his brother could heal the wounds, Kagome would be much more relaxed then. He also cursed his brother's stubbornness. If he marked her now, like Sesshomaru knew that he wanted to, all the marks would disappear.

He leaned down and grazed his tooth over the mark on her neck. In order for the healing magic in his saliva to work, he had to touch freshly broken skin. Her skin jumped at the pressure of his fangs and tongue and it took several swipes before the mark disappeared. He moved up from the small of her back to the base of her neck, quickly erasing that mark. He heard Kagome's soft gasp as her body shivered and Goosebumps formed on her skin.

Once the two marks on her back were gone, he moved around to take care of the ones on the front of her body. Kagome's eyes were squeezed shut and her face was so red that Sesshomaru was briefly reminded of air tower beacons that flashed red in the night.

Frowning, Sesshomaru pulled her closer to the edge of the desk. He knelt down and found the mark high on the inside of her thigh. As he moved closer to it, Kagome's natural scent wrapped around him. He took a moment to inhale and commit the scent to memory. He took his time with that mark.

Kagome couldn't fight the shiver that went through her body. When Kouga had marked her there, she had been so frightened that keeping the sensations in check had been easy. Sesshomaru, however, was being gentle and she quickly found that she was beside herself with the pleasure of it all.

When the smell of Kagome's arousal hit his nose, Sesshomaru quickly finished removing the mark from her skin and moved to the final one that was on her breast. He could feel his own control slipping and attacked the mark quickly.

Once it had disappeared, he quickly moved away from Kagome. "I'll let Inuyasha know that you're ready to go." He said quickly, leaving the room.

Sesshomaru closed the door and took a deep breath, still smelling her scent all around him. He had always viewed Kagome as something to be protected, something to be cherished. Never had he felt any kind of emotion but brotherly love towards the female. He was perfectly aware of how attractive she had become, but he was no fool. Whether they would admit it or not, Kagome belonged to Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru, as much as he despised his little brother at times, would never be so cruel as to take a potential mate from him.

After taking another calming breath, he pushed away from the door and walked towards Rin's room. The sight that greeted him there was to humorous to keep from laughing. Both his brother and the young child were shocked at the sound of the hysterical laughter coming from the usual cold and distant Youkai in front of them. Rin had managed to braid all of Inuyasha's hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. His brother looked absolutely ridicules.

"Sesshomaru!" Rin cried happily, running over to be picked up. "What do you think?"

Sesshomaru looked back at his brother and snorted as he tried to refrain from laughing even harder. "You made Inuyasha look very pretty."

Inuyasha gave his brother a glare and climbed to his feet. "Oh very funny, where's Kagome?"

"She's waiting for you downstairs." Sesshomaru told him. "I've gotten rid of the mark."

"It took you that long to get of one little mark?"

Sesshomaru frowned, wanting to tell his brother that there had been others, but he knew that it wasn't his place. "I had to ask her a few things first."

Inuyasha stared at his half brother, not believing him, but choosing to ignore it for now. "And what about Kouga?" Inuyasha asked. "Something needs to be done about him."

"Don't worry, I'll handle the wolf." Sesshomaru said, gently taking Rin's hands from his hair as she started to try to give the brothers a matching style.

Inuyasha nodded and headed for the door. "Thanks Sesshomaru, you're not as much of a bastard as you try to make yourself out to be."

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and waved his brother off. Inuyasha left the room and searched out Kagome. He found her as she left the bathroom.

"You okay?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm glad the marks are gone." Kagome said.

Inuyasha froze. "Marks?"

Kagome mentally slapped herself for forgetting that she hadn't told him about the others. "I only told you about one because I didn't want you to do something crazy. Your demon blood boiled over from knowing about one mark, can you imagine how it would have reacted to more than one?"

Inuyasha sighed and nodded. "You were afraid you wouldn't be able to calm me down."

"Exactly." She told him, inwardly thanking the heavens that he accepted that excuse.

"Come on, let's go to my place and try to salvage your birthday." He muttered, leading her out.

He guided her over to the car and caught the smirk on her face as they climbed in. "Nice hair by the way."

Inuyasha groaned and ran a hand over his aching scalp. "If it weren't for the fact that it would take me a couple hours to untangle it, I'd take it out."

Kagome laughed. It had taken her a good three hours to un-braid her hair after Rin had gotten her tiny hands on it once, and that had been with the help of Inuyasha, Shippou, Miroku, Sango and Kohaku. Rin made tiny braids, but it was amazing how fast the child could braid.

"Just wait, you know Miroku is going to harass you about it." She said.

"Feh, it'd be coming from a guy who has a rat-tail."

Kagome burst out laughing and settled against the seat. "Yeah you got a point there."


	13. Chapter 12

**AN: Again, had to remove lyrics...to read this chapter as it's supposed to be read go here: http / www . geocities . com / gerrysmistress / ioto12 . html(remove spaces)**

**I don't own Inuyasha but I should own shares in the damn company LOL.

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Inuyasha plopped down on the couch next to Kagome with a large bowl of popcorn in his hands. They had been convinced to watch Shippou for a weekend while Inuyasha's mom went on a business trip. Shippou seemed to be enjoying the slow torture of making Inuyasha and Kagome watch every Disney movie in the house.

"I've got ten bucks that says that the next movie is going to be Cinderella." Inuyasha whispered to her.

"I dunno, he's been going with strictly animals, maybe it'll be Bambi." Kagome whispered back.

"Can we watch Lion King again?"

Kagome groaned and fell over sideways. Inuyasha's eyes widened and thinking quickly he put the bowl of popcorn on the table. "Hey Shippou, how about we go and play at the park!"

Shippou's eyes turned to Inuyasha and were wide with excitement. "Okay!" He exclaimed.

He ran up to his room to gather some toys while Inuyasha went to grab Kagome's hoodie from his room. "Nice call." She said when he returned.

"Hey if you want to watch Lion King for the fifth time then by all means." He teased as she pulled on her hoodie and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch.

Shippou appeared, lugging his backpack full of toys behind him. He waited patiently as Kagome slipped his specially made boots onto his feet. "I hate these things!" He whined as Kagome tightened them.

"I know, but we need to protect your paws. Who knows what's under the sand at the playground." Kagome told him patiently. "Inuyasha's wearing shoes too and he hates them."

Shippou glanced at Inuyasha's feet and saw that he had slipped on a pair of sandals. He frowned and allowed Kagome to pick him up and nuzzle his cheek. After she did that, he couldn't help but smile and nuzzle back.

"Inuyasha, bring that crap." Kagome commanded, pointing to the blanket and Shippou's bag.

"What's wrong with your own damn arms?" Inuyasha snapped.

"They're full of a Kitsune." Kagome giggled, rubbing her nose against Shippou's.

Inuyasha picked up the objects, pretending to gag. In truth it soothed his Youkai blood to see Kagome with Shippou. Ever since she broke up with Kouga, Kagome had spent most of her free time at Inuyasha's house hanging out with him and Shippou. He couldn't help but be a little smug and feel like she was where she belonged.

Kagome moved to the large park by Inuyasha's house and headed for a tree to sit under. She put Shippou down on the ground and took the blanket from Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha will you come push me on the swing?" Shippou asked, making Kagome smile.

She spread the blanket out on the ground and sat down with her back against the tree. Inuyasha had Shippou up on his shoulder and the two of them seemed deep in conversation. She could see Inuyasha's cheeks flame pink as he put Shippou in the swing.

It didn't take Shippou long to become bored of the swing. Inuyasha took him out and handed the bag of toys over. He made a great show of pointing to Kagome to show him where they would be before he let the small Kitsune run off.

Inuyasha wandered back over to Kagome and threw himself down on the blanket. He rested his head on her thighs and sighed as her fingers automatically went to his ears. "So what were you two talking about?" She asked casually.

"Shippou asked me if I was going to ask you out now that Kouga is out of the picture."

Kagome's jaw dropped as she played with the hair at the base of his ears. "Why would he ask you that?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. He already knows that I plan to adopt him after graduation."

"I thought your mom had adopted him when he came to live with you."

"Nope, I asked her to let me adopt him. There's less red tape when a Hanyou adopts a Youkai." Inuyasha explained to her. "Besides, the little runt helps soothe the beast."

Kagome laughed at his description of his Youkai blood. "So why wait until after graduation?"

"You know how strict the school is. I could get kicked out for having a kid, even if he isn't mine." Inuyasha told her.

"So what does that have to do with what he asked you?"

Inuyasha shrugged again and growled softly at her when her hand stopped. "Maybe he's looking for a mom."

Kagome swatted his head when he kept growling at her. "Shut up, my hand is cramped." She told him. "Why would he want me as his mom?"

"Why not you?" Inuyasha said, sitting up to look her in the eye. "You pretty much are his mom."

Kagome was about to say something to him when a heart wrenching sob sounded and she was knocked backwards as Shippou leapt at her at full speed. Kagome felt all the air rush from her lungs and could see Inuyasha reaching for Shippou's tail to pull him off of her.

Shippou's tiny body was shaking under the force of his sobs and whenever Kagome tried to pull him away he only burrowed closer to her. Eventually he was holding her so tightly that even Inuyasha couldn't pull him off.

"Shippou what happened, are you hurt?" Kagome asked, slightly frightened by his behaviour.

"They said they deserved it!" The Kitsune cried.

"Who said who deserved what?" Kagome asked.

Shippou shook his head, refusing to answer her. Inuyasha's ears twitched when he heard gleeful laughter. He could hear several children talking and growled under his breath when he realized why Shippou was sobbing.

"Those little shits." He hissed.

"What is it?" Kagome asked, rubbing Shippou's back.

"Those human kids are making fun of him, they're saying that his parents deserved to die!" Inuyasha growled. "Shippou are those the same fuckers who tease you at school?"

Normally Kagome would have yelled at Inuyasha for using that language, but the look that passed over her face when Shippou nodded made Inuyasha shiver in fear. He silently thanked every God of every religion in the world that he wasn't on the receiving end of that look.

"Inuyasha, sic 'em."

He normally would have told her off for the line she just used, but he really didn't want o face her wrath. Kagome mad at him he could handle, but her anger at someone else was a different story. More than once he had hidden behind Sango or Miroku to avoid getting her anger taken out on him. Once he had even held Shippou up, asking her if she would risk hurting the Kitsune. All Kagome had done was calmly take Shippou from him, hand the small Kit to Sango and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him.

He made his way over to the human children. It didn't take much to send them scattering, just a simple growl. The growl had really been from one of the kids saying that Shippou "hung off the human girl because he wanted to be human". With the kids gone, he gathered up Shippou's toys and bag. Kagome met him half way, the still sobbing Kitsune wrapped up in the blanket they had been sitting on.

They walked home silently, Kagome's heart breaking with every sob that came from the bundle in her arms. She wondered how children could be so cruel and thought back to when she and Inuyasha were younger. No one had ever been quite so harsh to Inuyasha. Then again they had all been terrified to deal with an angry Kagome.

They entered the house and Kagome went to Shippou's room. Inuyasha followed her silently, wondering what she was doing. His ears shot forward when he heard her start singing to the Kitsune.

It was Shippou's favourite song that only Kagome could sing to him. She had bought him the Disney version of Tarzan, and now it was a song that only was meant for her to sing. At that moment, Inuyasha could think of nothing that was more fitting for the situation. He watched with interest as she pulled open a drawer and began to remove a pair of Shippou's pyjamas.

Shippou allowed Kagome to change his clothes before he quickly snuggled back against her.

Inuyasha grabbed Shippou's favourite blanket and climbed onto the bed beside Kagome. She took the blanket from him and wrapped Shippou up in its comfort.

Inuyasha soon found himself cuddled up against Kagome much like Shippou was. Her arm wrapped around him and her hand reached up to stroke his ear gently.

Inuyasha's hand reached out and he laced his fingers through Kagome's. Their joined hands rested against Shippou's back, making the Kitsune sigh contently.

Inuyasha glanced up at Kagome and was startled to see her staring down at him.

Kagome closed her eyes as Inuyasha's head moved closer to hers and she was able to rest her head against his own.

Shippou's tears stopped and his breathing began to even out as he fell asleep.

Inuyasha gently let go of Kagome's hand to brush away the few remaining tears from Shippou's cheek. When the Kitsune stirred he growled softly to soothe him.

Inuyasha's hand rejoined Kagome's and he gently raised his head and licked her under the chin. IF the submissive gesture shocked her, she certainly didn't show it.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and sighed, much like Shippou had done only minutes earlier.

Kagome's hand continued to rub Inuyasha's ears as her song ended. She figured that he had fallen asleep, but it didn't really bother her since she had managed to find a comfortable position.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Kagome gently pulled on his hair to make him look up at her. "Why are you thanking me?"

"Because you could have just ignored him and shunned him, but you didn't." Inuyasha told her.

"Inuyasha, I could never judge someone for doing or being what's in their nature." She told him. "Why else do you think I've put up with you for so long?"

Inuyasha growled at her playfully. "Are you okay? Do you want me to move so you can lay the runt down?"

"No." Kagome told him softly. "Would you mind if we stayed like this awhile longer?"

Inuyasha shook his head and settled back against her. It didn't take either of them long to fall into a comfortable sleep.


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: Okay so here's yet another fun chapter, it's really just the continuation of the previous one. Be aware that the next chapter will have a lot of angst to it, but I'm using it to explain exactly what Myouga talked about with Kagome and Inuyasha when he was 13.**

**Just a note for this chapter, I made Inuyasha do something that I've noticed my own dogs do when they're in trouble, aside from rolling over and showing their bellies and their tails between their legs. My Black Lab is famous for using this same trick to get my family members and I to forgive him.**

**As always Read and Review.**

**I'm legally required to say that I don't own Inuyasha, but the Hanyou chained to my bed says otherwise…JUST KIDDING!**

* * *

Sango rang the doorbell impatiently. "Who the hell invites friends over and then isn't home to let them in?"

Miroku smirked at his girlfriend's irritability. "Maybe they are here but are engaged in other activities."

"Give it a rest Miroku." Sango snapped.

"Well, Kagome's on the market now and I know that Inuyasha has been waiting for this for awhile!"

Sango glared at him and reached for the doorbell again. Miroku stopped her by reaching around her and trying the door.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he stepped around her and walked into the house.

"I'm going inside. What does it look like?"

"Well what if we are interrupting something?"

Miroku made a big show of cupping his hands around his ears as if he was trying to capture every sound in the apartment. "Well I don't think we are, unless they're being really quiet."

Sango glared at him and slapped him. "You pervert."

"Well let's go find them." Miroku said, rubbing his cheek.

Sango followed him reluctantly. They checked all the rooms on the main floor before climbing the stairs. Miroku cautiously opened the door to Inuyasha's room but was met with only a rumbled bed and a t-shirt lying on the floor.

"Miroku!" Sango whispered.

She was standing in the doorway of Shippou's room, a large grin on her face. Miroku made his way over to the door and peered in. His eyes widened at the sight before him.

Kagome, Shippou and Inuyasha were all crammed onto the tiny bed. Kagome and Inuyasha were lying on their sides with Shippou crushed between their bodies. Inuyasha's arm was thrown over the two of them protectively and his legs were entwined with Kagome's.

They looked like a content little family and Sango couldn't help but let tears spring to her eyes. Inuyasha inhaled deeply and must have caught their scent since his head rose slightly to sniff the air again.

"Why is Sango crying?" Inuyasha mumbled softly.

"It's nothing." Sango told him, wiping at her tears.

Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked at Kagome and Shippou, as if making sure that they were safe, before looking over his shoulder at them. "What?" He snapped when he noticed the grins they were sporting.

"You three just look so adorable." Sango cooed.

"Feh."

They all looked at Kagome in shock. They would have expected Inuyasha to answer that way, not Kagome. "What did you just say?" Inuyasha asked.

"You heard me." Kagome told him. "Shippou, do you want to get up or keep sleeping?"

Shippou muttered something close to "lollipops and ramen" before the sound of his soft snores filled the room again. "Lollipops and ramen?" Miroku asked, eyeing Inuyasha. "That sounds like something Inuyasha would dream about."

"Minus the lollipops." Sango teased.

Inuyasha glared at them and was about to say something nasty when Kagome pressed on his stomach as she crawled over him. He rolled over in pain, sending both himself and Kagome crashing to the floor.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Kagome snapped.

"You're the one who kneed me in the stomach!"

"It's not like I did it on purpose!"

Sango rolled her eyes and shook her head. They had been so quiet and content only minutes earlier and now they were at each others throats. Finally Inuyasha turned and hit Miroku.

"Hey!" Miroku exclaimed, rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"It was either you or her." Sango said patiently.

"So hit Kagome!" Miroku said. "She's the one who started it."

The glare he received from Kagome was enough to make him hide behind Sango. Unfortunately for him, Sango simply shook her head and walked away from him. "Come on Kagome, let's hit up the hot tub."

"Hey!" Inuyasha exclaimed, following them. "You could at least ask first."

Kagome shot him a glare that made his ears shoot back against his head and he dove behind Miroku. Miroku shook his head and followed the girls, briefly wondering how all the arguing hadn't woken Shippou up.

"When will you ever learn?" Miroku asked. Sango had disappeared into the bathroom to change while Kagome went to Inuyasha's room.

Without thinking, Inuyasha opened the door and stepped into his room. "What the hell are you doing?" Miroku heard Kagome yell.

"Sorry." Inuyasha said. "Ow! Why the fuck did you just throw a pen at me?"

"I'm changing in here you idiot!"

"It's not like I haven't seen your body before!"

Sango exited the bathroom and gave Miroku a questioning look as she adjusted her top. "What's all the yelling for?"

"You pervert, we agreed not to bring that up anymore!"

"He walked in on her while she was changing." Miroku told Sango.

"Ow!" Inuyasha gasped. Sango and Miroku winced at the sound of a body hitting the floor.

Minutes later Kagome stormed from the room. Miroku and Sango looked into the room and found Inuyasha lying on the floor groaning. "What did you do to him?" Miroku asked her.

"He grabbed me so I punched him in the stomach." Kagome said simply.

Sango laughed and followed Kagome down the stairs. Miroku entered the room and stood over Inuyasha. "You alright?"

"I never knew she could hit so hard." Inuyasha whined.

"Come on, get changed and when we get down to the hot tub you can apologize to her." Miroku said, helping Inuyasha to his feet.

Miroku left the room to let Inuyasha change. The two of them walked down the stairs and out to the backyard. Miroku went to Sango's side and sat next to her. Inuyasha sat near Kagome and tried to catch her eye.

Kagome made a point of ignoring him and looked to Sango for help. Sango was listening to something that Miroku was whispering to her. Inuyasha slid closer to her and Kagome found that there was no where she could move to. Inuyasha grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't you dare!" She told him. Inuyasha licked her under the chin and whined softly. "Argh! I hate it when you do that!"

Inuyasha's ears lay flat and he whined low in his throat. Kagome glanced at him and rolled her eyes, only to get another lick under the chin. When she still didn't nod to confirm that she accepted his apology he moved closer to her.

Miroku and Sango watched the event in front of them with keen interest. They had seen plenty of fights between Inuyasha and Kagome, but they had never seen him apologize this way before.

"Fine!" Kagome's shout made Miroku and Sango jump. "I forgive you!"

Inuyasha sat back with a smirk on his face. _Never fails_. He thought watching Kagome fume. "What?" Inuyasha asked when he saw Miroku staring at him.

"What was that?"

"That's how Inu-Youkai pups apologize." Kagome muttered, still glaring at Inuyasha. "And it's Inuyasha's favourite way to apologize to me since his puppy dog look stopped working."

"So how come that works but the puppy dog look doesn't?" Sango asked, barely suppressing her laughter.

"Because I don't give up." Inuyasha smirked.

Kagome's left eyebrow raised before she threw a handful of water at him. Inuyasha pushed his wet hair out of his eyes and glared at Kagome. A grin slowly crept across his face before he lunged across the hot-tub at her, starting the inevitable water fight.


	15. Chapter 14

**AN: Some people are wondering why Kagome was in a bad mood. It wasn't that she woke up and was in a bad mood, it's because she was sent crashing to the floor. My friend did that to me once and I was in a lot of pain after and I was cranky too LOL.**

**Okay so this is a slightly angsty chapter. When I say below that he woke up, he didn't truly wake up, he just became conscious and joined the real world…confused? It'll make sense when you read it.**

**I don't own Inuyasha.**

* * *

Inuyasha could smell blood, he didn't know where it was coming from, but he was excited by it. He followed the scent out of his room and down to the kitchen. He growled with pleasure as the scent grew stronger and found he was seeing his world through a red tint. 

He entered the kitchen only to be greeted with the smell of blood reaching its highest peak. On the floor he could make out a large puddle of the red liquid spreading towards him. He walked towards it and as he came around the counter he saw a pale hand lying on the floor.

As he finally walked completely around the structure he found Shippou and Kagome lying in the never ending lake of blood. Shippou was no longer recognizable due to the claws that had torn through his tiny body.

Kagome moaned softly and Inuyasha went to her side. He picked her up and turned her over. "Inuyasha," She whispered, her voice laced with pain. "How…could you."

Inuyasha snarled and bared his fangs at Kagome. She stared up at him with tears in her eyes, before releasing a strangled cry as Inuyasha tore into her throat savagely.

As her blood rushed into his mouth, Inuyasha woke up screaming.

* * *

Kagome was sleeping restlessly. From his room Souta could hear her moaning and crying out in her sleep. Her sudden scream made him sit upright in bed. He leapt out from under his blankets and ran for her room across the hall. 

Their mother and grandfather were out of town seeking funds to help save some of the forest surrounding the Shrine. Souta was grateful for that since Kagome's screams might have given their grandfather a heart attack.

He ran to Kagome's side and grabbed her shoulders as she thrashed about on her bed. "Kagome!" He shouted, jerking her sharply.

Kagome's eyes snapped open and she shot upright, almost head-butting Souta. "Inuyasha!"

Souta's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. Inuyasha was obviously in trouble and Kagome could sense it. "Get dressed; I'll go find the car keys!"

Kagome looked at her brother, as if seeing him for the first time. She nodded to him gratefully and climbed out of bed. It had been a warm night and her fan had decided to crap out half way through the night. She ended up sleeping in only a pair of small shorts and a sports bra. She opened a drawer and pulled out a tank top, pulling it over her head as she ran from the room.

Souta was pulling on his shoes as Kagome leapt from the stairs. "What do you think you're doing?" Kagome asked as she pulled on her own shoes.

"I'm coming with you." Souta told her, shoving his house key in the lock and tossed her the car keys. "I can keep an eye on Shippou while you look after Inuyasha."

Kagome didn't say anything to her brother as he locked the door and followed her down to the car. In actuality she was glad that he was coming along to keep Shippou distracted. Knowing Shippou he was probably pacing outside of Inuyasha's room. That is, if Inuyasha was in the condition she thought he was in.

She silently prayed that when she got there he'd open the door and give her a look telling her that she was crazy and just having a nightmare.

"Shit!" Kagome said suddenly. "I forgot my wal…"

Souta cut her off by waving her wallet in the air. "I got it."

Kagome sighed and pressed down on the gas harder. It only took them a few moments to reach Inuyasha's house. Kagome barely got her seatbelt undone as she threw herself out of the car. Souta had been the one to actually put the car in park and shut off the engine.

Shippou ran from the house and launched himself at Kagome. "He's gone insane!"

Kagome could hear the roars and snarls coming from Inuyasha. She could also hear things within the house becoming victims to his rage. The three of them thanked the heavens that Inuyasha's father had made sure the estate they lived on was so vast that their neighbours wouldn't hear what was going on.

Kagome handed Shippou to Souta before heading for the house. "No Kagome!" Shippou shouted. "Don't go to him, you'll be killed!"

Kagome didn't respond and they couldn't tell whether or not she had heard them. She pushed open the door and looked cautiously around the house. Almost every table was turned over, pictures were smashed, and figurines were in thousands of pieces. Kagome took a deep breath and tried to calm herself of all her fears. She knew that if Inuyasha sensed her fear it would only stir him on.

"Inuyasha?" She called softly in a surprisingly calm voice.

She didn't receive an answer so she moved through the house. When she didn't find him on the bottom floor she cautiously climbed the stairs. She kept her back pressed to the wall, hoping that if he suddenly lunged at her, she'd be able to escape the attack that way. The last thing either of them needed was to be sent flying down the stairs, but Inuyasha would survive the fall better than she would.

Kagome reached his room and could hear him growling softly beyond the door. "Inuyasha?"

She pushed the door open and found him crouched on the floor. She swallowed thickly as she stared at him. His normally well kept hair was tangled and wild, his nails and fangs were much longer than their normal length, his facial crests had appeared and were bright purple. His ears were twitching madly on top of his head as he continued to growl at her.

Brown eyes met cold red and blue ones and Kagome couldn't fight the wave of fear that washed over her. "Get away from me!" Inuyasha snarled as she started to approach. "I'll kill you if you come any closer!"

Kagome shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "No you won't." She whispered to him. "I trust you not to hurt me."

Inuyasha growled louder as she continued to approach him. "Stupid wench."

The attack seemed to come at her in slow motion. Inuyasha leapt, swinging his claws downward. Kagome hadn't realized she screamed until a burst of pink light burst between them, throwing them both backwards. Unfortunately the protective barrier had burst out just a little too late and his claws had made contact. Kagome slumped against the wall as rivers of blood poured from her shoulder. Thankfully the gashes weren't as deep as they could be, but she still needed a doctor.

"Inu-Inuyasha." She said weakly, as she looked at him.

Inuyasha shook his head trying to get the ringing in his ears to stop. He had to blink several times to get his vision to clear. He panted for breath and when he inhaled deeply he was startled to have Kagome's scent invade his nostrils.

"Inu-Inuyasha." Kagome repeated before falling unconscious from the pain and the loss of blood.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha gagged as the sour scent of her blood assaulted his nostrils.

He began to crawl towards her only to be stopped by Shippou's scream of "Fox Fire!" Inuyasha managed to roll away from the blue flames that attacked him and he watched as Sesshomaru entered the room and picked up Kagome's pale form.

"Wait!" Inuyasha gasped. "Where are you taking her?"

"Stay there." Sesshomaru snarled at his younger sibling. "I'm taking her to the hospital and when I return, you will tell me what happened."

When Inuyasha tried to stand to follow, he found himself thrown against the wall once more, only this time by his brother. He watched helplessly as Sesshomaru carried Kagome from the room. Shippou and Souta stared at him for several moments before they too left the room.

Once they were gone, Inuyasha looked across the room to the blood stain on the wall, where Kagome had been just moments earlier. He felt tears slip down his face, but he did nothing to stop them. That was how Sesshomaru found him when he returned several hours later. Tears were still falling and he was still staring at the blood.

"Get up." Sesshomaru commanded.

Inuyasha tore his eyes away from the blood stain and looked at his brother. Sesshomaru unconsciously took a step away from his brother, shocked at the pain and sadness burning in the golden depths.

"Please, just tell me I didn't kill her." Inuyasha pleaded.

"I should tell you she died just to cause you more pain." Sesshomaru said, baring his teeth. "Go take a shower."

Inuyasha looked down at his hands and this time he couldn't hold back the bile that rushed from his stomach. Her blood was caked over his nails and splattered over his chest. He somehow made it to the bathroom before he emptied the contents of his stomach. His whole body shook under the strain of the retching.

He laid his head against the cool porcelin of the toilet and barely noticed that Sesshomaru had turned on the shower. He barely flinched when his brother lifted him up and dumped him unceremoniously under the cascading water. The brothers watched the water turn pink as Kagome's blood washed away from Inuyasha's skin.

Sesshomaru reached over and grabbed a cloth, scrubbing his brother's skin like he used to when Inuyasha was too small to bathe himself. He finally turned off the water and turned to the linen closet for a towel. When he turned back, Inuyasha hadn't moved, he hadn't even bothered to push his bangs from his face. It was evident that the younger sibling was in shock.

Sesshomaru sighed, he had never been close to his brother, in fact the only reason why he had tolerated him was because he promised his father to watch over him. He had tried to cut himself off from his brother many times, and each time Kagome showed up and yelled at him to quit being such an ass.

Now seeing his little brother sitting in the shower, a broken man, he felt grief for the relationship they could have had if he wasn't so stubborn. He gently wrapped the towel around his brother and picked him up. He had to admit that when Inuyasha was a child he had been entertaining. Inuyasha had worshipped him, saw Sesshomaru as a hero and right now, Sesshomaru felt it was his duty to live up to that image.

He sat his brother down on the bed and rubbed the towel over his skin to soak up the water. "Get dressed." Sesshomaru said softly.

Inuyasha looked at his brother and nodded mutely. He stood on shaky legs and crossed the room, to change into dry clothes. Even in his state of mind, he was surprised that Sesshomaru was acting this way. They usually only got along for Kagome's or Inuyasha's mothers sake. He had never seen his brother willingly help him out before.

"What happened?"

"I was having a nightmare and when I woke up Kagome was just lying there." Inuyasha told his brother. "All I could smell was her blood and hear her whispering my name."

"What were you dreaming about?"

"I just remember there being a lot of blood. Shippou was dead and then I tore out her throat." Inuyasha sobbed.

Sesshomaru frowned and leaned down to his brother. He silently pulled the Hanyou to him and held him tight against his chest. Sesshomaru's eyes travelled around the room and landed on Inuyasha's calendar. It was then that he realized what had happened, after all, Myouga had only been warning them about it since Inuyasha was born.

Because of the strength of his father's blood, Inuyasha's human soul would never be able to contain it completely. Myouga told them that unless Inuyasha suffered some severe physical trauma the demon blood would remain dormant until Inuyasha's eighteenth birthday. No one understood why it would be specifically on his eighteenth birthday as it differed from Hanyou to Hanyou, but whatever calculations Myouga had done showed them that it would be that day.

Sesshomaru had been old enough to understand the consequences so he had sat in on the conversation Myouga had with Inuyasha's mother and their father. They had discussed the different ways to prevent the demon blood from surfacing and ways to control it when it did happen. Their father had commissioned for a sword to be made, but Kohana refused to let the weapon anywhere near her child.

The only other option was to choose someone that Inuyasha's Youkai blood would recognize, someone who could soothe him. Myouga never guaranteed that it would work, so the sword was still up in the attic, waiting to be placed in an area easily accessible to Inuyasha.

When Kagome had come into the picture everyone automatically knew that she was going to be that person. But when they tried to convince Inuyasha to give her a protection mark, he refused, saying that he didn't want her to be bound to him in case she ever got tired of being around. The fact that Kagome had sensed what happened today surprised Sesshomaru and he found himself wondering how she could have possibly known that she was needed.

"How did you know to come?" Inuyasha asked, pulling away from his brother.

"Souta called me not long after Kagome got here." Sesshomaru explained. "I was already over here to take Shippou over to see Rin."

Inuyasha nodded and he rubbed his burning eyes. "Oh my God, Mom!" Inuyasha said, his head suddenly snapping up.

"She's fine." Sesshomaru said. "Apparently she went shopping today."

As if on cue, Kohana entered the house. Inuyasha winced at the sound of his mother's gasp. The boys turned as the sound of her running up the stairs reached them.

"Inuyasha!" She cried, bursting into the room.

"Mom!"

Sesshomaru barely got out of the way as Kohana lunged for her son. He knew better then to get in-between the two of them when she thought Inuyasha was in danger. More than once he had seen Jaken go flying across the room at the hands of the normally calm woman.

"Are you alright?" She asked, pulling him to her roughly.

"I'm fine."

"What the hell happened?"

Sesshomaru stepped closer to them and put his hand on her shoulder. "Remember what Myouga told us."

Kohana seemed to notice her step son for the first time. As soon as those words left Sesshomaru's mouth she knew what had happened. Kohana pulled Inuyasha closer and stroked his hair soothingly.

"Where's Shippou?" She asked. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru glanced at each other but said nothing. "What is it?"

"He's at the hospital." Sesshomaru told her.

"Why is he at the hospital?" Her eyes moved passed Sesshomaru to the large bloodstain on the wall. "Whose blood is that, is it Shippou's?"

"It's Kagome's." Inuyasha said quietly, almost ashamed at what had happened.

Kohana gave them both a confused look. "Why was Kagome here?" She asked. "She wasn't here when I left this morning."

"She knew I was in trouble and she came." Inuyasha told her. Suddenly Kagome's words came back to him. _I trust you not to hurt me._

Kohana and Sesshomaru jumped at the sound of the sudden sob that tore through Inuyasha's throat. "Sesshomaru, we need to get him to Kagome." Kohana said as sobs tore through her son. "It's the only way to assure him that she's alright."

Sesshomaru nodded and led them out of the house down to his car.


	16. Chapter 15

**I have two pictures for this chapter. Again they weren't drawn FOR me, but Kristin was nice enough to let me display them since they gave me some inspiration!**

**http / i2 . photobucket . com / albums / y9 / ralphlauren83 / outside /**** IrisCloseColor . jpg**

**(Remove the spaces. This one shows how he looks when Kagome wakes up)**

**http / i2 . photobucket . com / albums / y9 / ralphlauren83 / outside / LO17CryColor . jpg** **(Remove the spaces. Ignore the nudity, I like this picture because it conveys the feeling I was trying to describe…It was originally drawn for "The Lucky Ones" an AWESOME story).**

**To see the rest of her amazing work go to:** **www . kristinsstudio . com (remove the spaces)

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**

Kagome groaned and opened her eyes. Her shoulder felt stiff, but she wasn't in much pain. She assumed that it was from the pain killers she had been given an hour ago. She had almost fallen out of bed when she first regained consciousness, wrenching her shoulder painfully.

Sango, Souta and Shippou had been at her side almost immediately. "Where's Inuyasha, is he alright?"

She heard Sango growl softly. "How the hell can you ask about him when he's the reason you're here?"

Kagome had tried to explain what had happened, but Sango had been too angry to listen to her. Eventually Miroku had sent her to grab Souta and Shippou some lunch, just to stop her ranting. A nurse came to check her vitals and give her some more morphine.

"You're awake!"

Kagome turned her head to face him. He was straddling a chair, his cheek leaning against his palm. She could see his fingers nervously massaging his scalp, near the base of his ear and she knew that he was trying to bring himself some kind of comfort. He stared at her silently, guilt attacking every inch of his body.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her voice breaking through his thoughts.

"You're asking me if I'm alright when I'm the one who hurt you?" Inuyasha asked in shock.

Kagome held her hand out to him, motioning him to come closer. Inuyasha winced and moved backwards. "Inuyasha, get your ass over here."

Inuyasha sighed and moved closer to her slowly. When Kagome struggled to sit up on her own he darted forward and wrapped his arm around her torso to help her. "Don't move so fast!"

Kagome smirked and lay back. "Got you here faster didn't it?"

Inuyasha sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm so sorry Kagome."

Kagome grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. "Don't worry about it." Kagome said softly. "We've known for a long time that this was going to happen."

"But I could have killed you!" He said, pushing himself away from Kagome. "How can you not hate me for such a thing?"

Kagome sighed and shifted, wincing as she jolted her shoulder. "Inuyasha, you know that I could never hate you for something that you couldn't control." She told him. "Just like I couldn't hate you because of who you are. I knew what the risk was going to you, but I trusted you."

"And I broke your trust, look at your shoulder!" Inuyasha said, pointing at the injured body part.

"No," Kagome said, motioning for him to come closer to her. "Inuyasha, do you know what happened after you swiped at me?"

"No, I just remember being thrown back." Inuyasha whispered to her.

Kagome sighed and grabbed his hand once again, making him lay down beside her on the small hospital bed. He shifted around a few times, trying to find a comfortable position. Kagome's eyes swam with tears when he jolted her shoulder, but he finally rested his head on her chest and in spite of her pain, she wrapped her arms around him. One of her hands grabbed his ear gently and she stroked the furry appendage to soothe him.

"There was some kind of power that came out of me and knocked you away. I think it was you calling out to my soul to protect itself." Kagome told him. "Otherwise the damage would have been a lot worse."

Inuyasha clung to her desperately and Kagome was slightly reminded of Shippou when he had nightmares. Kagome was shocked when she felt something wet drip through her hospital gown. She gently pulled his head up and stared into his face, brushing his tears away with her thumbs.

"Inuyasha, I'm fine." Kagome whispered to him.

Inuyasha dropped his head back to her chest and hugged her more tightly. "I know, but I was just so scared, I thought I lost you."

Kagome rubbed his ear and muttered quietly into his ears to soothe him. She soon felt his head grow heavy on her chest, signalling that he had fallen asleep. As she continued to play with his ear she briefly wondered why suddenly, her injured shoulder didn't seem to hurt so much anymore.

Sango paced around just outside of the waiting room, wondering just why the hell Miroku had let Inuyasha in there. If she had been around the room when Inuyasha showed up, the boy would have received a few well aimed slaps for hurting Kagome. Shippou was sitting in Miroku's lap and his head followed her movements making him look like he was watching a tennis game.

"Sango, why don't you sit down and relax?" Sesshomaru asked, his neck starting to ache from following her movements.

Sango stopped pacing and slowly turned to face him. Sesshomaru was not one to become afraid of a woman, but the look that Sango shot him wanted to make him crawl into Kohana's lap and stick his thumb in his mouth.

Kohana chuckled at the look of fear that crossed over her step-son's face. "Sango, why don't you check on Kagome?"

Everyone turned their heads to stare at Kohana in shock, wondering if she suddenly had a death wish for her only child. Sango sighed and nodded before crossing the hallway to Kagome's room. She opened the door slowly, not wanting to interrupt any conversation that might be going on. She may have been thinking of some painful punishments for Inuyasha, but she and everyone else knew that she wouldn't follow through. At least Kohana knew that she wouldn't follow through.

She was met with nothing but silence as she pushed the door open. She looked at the bed and found Inuyasha lying with Kagome, his head on her chest, and her arms around him protectively. She briefly wondered how in the hell the position wasn't irritating the wound on Kagome's shoulder.

She walked closer to the bed and saw that Kagome wasn't asleep; she was staring at the wall. "Hey." Sango said softly.

"Hi." Kagome said, blushing slightly at the position that she was in.

"Look, I'm sorry about before, I was just scared." Sango said, sitting on the chair next to her bed.

"It's alright; I understand why you reacted that way."

"Is he hurting you?" Sango asked, motioning to the exhausted Hanyou still asleep on her.

"No, he's alright." Kagome said, "My shoulder doesn't really seem to hurt."

Sango watched her friend yawn and stood up. "We're all outside in the waiting room, just holler if you need us."

Kagome nodded and watched her leave before she nudged Inuyasha. "I know you're awake."

Inuyasha sighed and nuzzled into her chest. "She's going to kill me isn't she?"

Kagome giggled and hugged him tighter. "Well I can tell you that she won't kill you, but your manhood might be in danger."

She laughed again when she felt him wince. Inuyasha sighed, glad to hear her laughing. "Hey Kagome, this probably isn't the best time, but do you have a date for grad?"

"No."

"Wanna go with me?"

Kagome sighed and fought the grin that was forming on her face. "I dunno, I might have to check my social calendar, then of course there's the point of whether or not I want to be seen in public with you."

Inuyasha fell silent and she could almost feel him glaring. "You're so mean."

Kagome laughed and tugged on his ear gently. "Of course I'll go with you dumbass." She muttered. "Now make yourself useful and help me to the bathroom because there is no way I'm peeing in a bed pan."


	17. Chapter 16

**Please note that Inuyasha doesn't have the rosary and Kagome doesn't have the Shikon Jewel…yet! But neither will have the "mystical powers".**

**There's a scene below between Inuyasha and his mother that I would LOVE to have sketched out, so if anyone's bored and feeling creative LOL.**

**If you want an idea of their outfits go here: http // s2 . photobucket . com / albums / y9 / ralphlauren83 / outsideprom /(remove spaces to get it to work)**

**And the car: http // www . gentrylane . com / gensite / 65jagstype/ 65stypelftfrt . jpg (remove spaces)**

**I don't own Inuyasha. **

**Please Read and Review.**

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Miroku and Sango impatiently tapped their feet as Kagome lounged against the couch. They had planned a day of picking up all the final touches for their outfits for the Graduation ceremony. The agreement had been to meet at Inuyasha's place at eleven, and then they would head out and grab lunch before doing their shopping. It was now a quarter to one and they were still sitting in the entertainment room.

Kohana entered the room and handed them all drinks, apologizing once more. Sesshomaru had apparently lost out on a huge business deal and decided to work out his frustration on his favourite punching bag, Inuyasha. It had been a common thing over the years, just now it took a lot longer for Sesshomaru to feel more satisfied, since Inuyasha had learned to fight back.

Sesshomaru walked into the house stopping briefly to say hello to his stepmother and request the use of her shower. "Is my best friend still breathing?" Kagome teased.

Sesshomaru looked over at her and smirked. "He's breathing," He started. "At least he is now."

Kagome rolled her eyes and motioned for the others to follow her. They stepped outside to find Inuyasha sitting in the grass stretching his muscles. Kagome's eyes bugged out of her head slightly as she took in his outfit. He was shirtless and his hakama were open around the hips. She blushed as she noticed the bare skin through the holes.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku said, bent over laughing. "Are you going commando?"

Inuyasha looked up from where he was stretching and gave Miroku a dirty look. "They didn't have underwear in the era when these were fashionable."

Sango was laughing so hard she had to lean on Kagome for support. "They've always had some form of undergarments. Besides, I highly doubt those pants were ever fashionable."

Inuyasha glared at Sango before looking at Kagome, who was purposely trying to look anywhere but in his direction. "You got something to say too?"

Kagome blushed and shook her head, still not looking at him. "Inuyasha, go take a shower so we can get out of here before the mall closes!" Miroku said.

Inuyasha glanced once more at Kagome before scowling and walking inside. "Kagome, you okay?" Sango asked.

"If I knew the boy was going to grow up to look that hott I would have shared my crayons with him in grade two." Kagome muttered.

Sango and Miroku burst out laughing as they made their way back inside to wait for Inuyasha.

* * *

Tires squealed as Inuyasha swung his car into the parking space. Miroku was staring at his fingernails with a bored expression while Sango and Kagome gripped their seats with white knuckles. Inuyasha undid his seatbelt, but was unable to move thanks to the death grip that Kagome's fingers had on his hair.

"What's wrong?" He asked innocently.

Kagome released the seat and glared at him. No matter how many times she was in the car while he drove she would never get used to his driving. "That was some good manoeuvring missing that cat back there, but I sure hope that little old lady will be able to get back on her feet." Kagome told him.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Feh, she had it coming." He teased.

Sango and Miroku laughed as their fingers linked together. Kagome caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and sighed softly. She was starting to miss being with someone. Inuyasha heard her sigh and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"So are you going to tell me what your dress looks like yet?" He asked her.

Kagome and Sango had gone dress shopping a month earlier, two weeks after she had been released from the hospital. It took them three days to find the perfect dresses. They had agreed to go shopping for their accessories closer to the day of grad just in case they changed their minds for some reason.

"No, you're not going to see it until grad night." She told him.

"I suddenly feel like a groom before a wedding." Inuyasha muttered.

Kagome stopped walking and looked at him in shock. "What did you just say?"

Inuyasha gave her a strange look before tugging her forward. "You know how it's bad luck for a groom to see the bride before a wedding; I'm starting to feel that away about your stupid dress."

Kagome rolled her eyes as Sango lead them into a jewellery store. "Just how are you two going to buy accessories for your dresses when you don't have them with you?" Miroku asked.

"We took pictures." Kagome said. "Now you two get out of here, go buy some video games or something."

"And stay out of Victoria Secret!" Sango yelled. "I don't want lingerie for a graduation present from you Miroku!"

The guys walked off in the direction of the food court and the girls returned their attention to the task at hand. "So you guys are getting each other presents then huh?" Kagome said as she looked at some earrings.

"Yeah." Sango said. "It wasn't really a mutual decision; he told me that he had something to give me on graduation so I figured I'd get him something too. Aren't you and Inuyasha getting each other anything?"

Kagome shrugged. "I didn't really think about it."

Kagome looked at the jewellery but didn't look for anything to match her dress. Kohana was giving Kagome a necklace for graduation and she was told that it would go perfect with her dress. She also didn't need earrings since she was going to be borrowing her mother's tear drop diamonds.

She wandered away from the women's section and over to the men's. She looked around at the different jewellery, wondering if maybe she should get Inuyasha something from here. She passed the watches and ID bracelets, knowing that he would never wear them. She looked at all the chains, shaking her head as she studied the gold necklaces.

"Silver's more his style." She muttered to herself, moving along.

She was about to ask to look at a thick silver chain when something caught her eye. She moved to the end of the glass counter and stared down at the item. It didn't fit in with the rest of the jewellery that it sat with. Amidst silver, gold, platinum chains, the beaded necklace sat in the center. Kagome could tell that the beads were wood and were well worn; the thing had to be an antique.

"You like the rosary?" A man's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"It's beautiful, may I see it?"

The man nodded and stepped around the counter. "It's all that's left of our Feudal era display. Everything but this was sold, I can't understand why; it is an interesting piece of work. It belongs in any collection."

Kagome glanced at the price tag and swallowed heavily. If she bought this, she wouldn't be able to afford to get her hair and makeup done, then again Kohana had offered to do her hair and make up for her, and if she let her do it, Kagome was guaranteed something that she would like.

"I'll take it." Kagome said.

"Would you like it wrapped?" The man asked, taking it from her gently.

"No, that's alright, if I know the person that I plan to give this to he'll just make some comment about knowing that I didn't wrap it myself." Kagome said wincing at the thought of all the Christmas and Birthday presents she had mutilated over the years.

The man laughed and begun to ring up the rosary. Once it was in a box and a bag, Kagome tucked it into her purse and returned to Sango to save her from choosing between two pairs of earrings.

* * *

Kagome woke up and slowly pushed the covers away from her face. She stretched her arms out and almost screamed when her hand hit something warm. "Ow, fuck!" Inuyasha muttered in his sleep and rolled away from her.

She had spent the night at his house after the Graduation ceremonies. Kohana had all but dragged her there, saying that she was going to spend the day pampering the girl until it was time to get ready. She and Inuyasha had spent most of the night in his room watching old black and white movies and just relaxing. She had left to go to the room she would be sleeping in at around 3 am.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked with a yawn. "I seem to remember falling asleep alone in this bed."

"You were, mom sent me to wake you up." Inuyasha muttered into the pillow.

Kagome sat up and looked down at him. "Oh yeah, and when was that."

"At nine."

Kagome glanced at the clock and rolled her eyes. "Its 11:30 Inuyasha."

"Yeah I know, Shippou's been coming in every half hour to tell me what time it is." He muttered, curling around her body.

Inuyasha's legs were around one hip and his torso around the other. He rested his head on her thigh; she briefly wondered how in the world he was comfortable. Kagome smiled to herself and ran her fingers through his bangs. Her door opened slowly and Shippou's red hair appeared.

"Inuyasha it's 11:30, Kohana said that if you and Kagome don't get out of bed now she's going to come in here and she promises that it won't be pretty." Shippou said, looking at his feet.

"Okay Shippou, we're awake." Kagome told the Kitsune. "Why are you looking at the floor?"

"Miroku told me never to look into a room where a man and women are in a bed together, he said I'm to young to see things like that."

Kagome's jaw dropped and Shippou yelped at the look on her face. Inuyasha's eyes opened and he looked up at Kagome. "What's going on?" Inuyasha asked. "Uh oh, who's going to die?"

"Miroku!" Kagome exclaimed before telling Inuyasha what Shippou just said.

Inuyasha rolled away laughing. "That's classic!" He exclaimed.

Kagome glared at him and grabbed a pillow, slamming it down on his face. "You're just as bad!"

Kagome climbed off the bed and grabbed Shippou, hauling him up to sit him on her hip. Inuyasha peaked out from under the pillow and watched her whisper something to Shippou before he nodded and hugged her neck tightly. With one last deadly glare she left the room.

Inuyasha sighed, still chuckling over the fact that Miroku would say something like that to Shippou knowing that he would eventually tell Kagome. He sat up and made his way down to the kitchen, only to be shoved back out by his mother.

"Mom!" He said, as he almost fell. "What's going on!"

"You're going to Miroku's, that's what's going on." Kohana said, shoving her son towards the door. "Your tux is there so you guys are going to change and then come back here to pick up Sango and Kagome."

"But I'm hungry!"

"You should have thought about that when I sent you up to her room two and a half hours ago to wake her up, then you would have had the chance to eat." Kohana said. "Sango's already here and in the middle of a pampering from Akina, so shoo."

"You're pampering them and not me?" Inuyasha said, sticking his bottom lip out.

"Oh no you don't, I've put up with three Tashio men doing that to me." Kohana said, poking him in the chest. It always amused Inuyasha when his mother did that, considering she was a foot shorter than him. "It didn't work for your father, it barely worked for your brother and it didn't work for you after you hit age six, now scram."

Inuyasha laughed as his mother all but shoved him out of the house. He barely had time to pull on his shoes before the door closed behind him. He couldn't wait for that night, he knew all the fuss his mom was making over Kagome was going to make being dissed by his own mother well worth it.

Kohana returned to the kitchen dusting her hands off. "Now it's just us girls, well except Shippou of course."

Kagome grinned from where she was buttering a bagel and quickly tossed it into a Tupperware container with some eggs and bacon. "Where do you think you're going?" Her mother asked.

"If I know Inuyasha he's pouting out in the car right now, so I'm taking him some breakfast." Kagome said, grabbing a fork before jogging out to the drive way.

Inuyasha was actually digging in his glove compartment, searching for his sunglasses. He jumped when a finger tapped on his window. He grinned at Kagome and rolled down his window. "Did you bring me my sunglasses?"

"No food." Kagome said, thrusting the container through the window. She leaned in and kissed his cheek gently. "Have fun at Miroku's and your sunglasses are under the passenger seat."

She pulled herself out from the window and walked back to the house. Inuyasha stared after her, his fingers touching his still tingling cheek. He finally reached under the passenger seat and felt around for his sunglasses. He was startled to feel a soft material lying under the seat and he nervously pulled out what ever it was.

He stared at the long velvet shaped box questioningly, trying to figure out who it could belong to and most importantly, what was in it. He slowly opened the box and his eyes went wide as he stared at the blue wooden beads and the white beads shaped like fangs. His fingers brushed over the cool wood and he gently lifted it from its case. A piece of paper lay nestled underneath it and he quickly snatched it up and unfolded it.

_Inuyasha,_

_I don't know what really possessed me to buy this, but it seemed perfect for you. Happy Graduation, think you can put up with me for another 12 years?_

_All my love, _

_Kagome._

Inuyasha smiled and tucked the beads against his chest. He glanced towards the house and saw the curtain move back, but he knew that Kagome had been watching him. He quickly slid the beads over his head and began to place the note back inside the box. More writing caught his eye and he pulled the note back out.

_By the way, Sango says that she owes you new sunglasses, she kind of sat on yours and broke them._

Inuyasha burst out laughing and finally pulled away from the house. Inside Kagome smiled and moved away from the window. While she hadn't been able to make out his exact reaction to the rosary, she had seen him put it on before he left the driveway. She walked back into the kitchen only to be thrown into a chair by her mother.

* * *

Several hours later Inuyasha returned with Miroku and stuck his head in the house. "Mom, am I allowed to come into my own home now?" He called.

"Yes, but get your butt into the living room until I call you!" She yelled from upstairs.

Miroku and Inuyasha looked at each other and shrugged. They made their way to the living room and laughed to find a ruffled looking Shippou sitting on the couch. "Why aren't you helping them?" Miroku asked, sitting beside the Kitsune.

"Aunt Akina kicked me out when Sango and Kagome started to get dressed." Shippou said, playing with the DVD player remote.

Inuyasha took that as a sign and stood to throw in a movie for the Kit. "How did they look?" Miroku asked.

Shippou was about to answer when they heard the front door open and close. Sesshomaru stopped in his tracks when three pairs of eyes turned in his direction. "What?" He asked.

"Why are you here?" Inuyasha asked him.

Sesshomaru shrugged. "Kohana called me and asked me to come over." He told his brother. "Something about keeping you two in line."

Sesshomaru put a foot on the stairs and began to go in search of his step-mother. "I wouldn't go up there, Sesshomaru." Shippou said, his tiny face barely peeking over the couch. "Aunt Akina and Kohana are scary."

Sesshomaru grinned at the kit. "They don't scare me." Inuyasha started the DVD and watched the stairs with a smirk as his brother suddenly appeared. "I take that back."

Miroku and Inuyasha laughed as Sesshomaru sat down in the chair across from them. The three of them put up with Shippou's movies for another two hours; every time one of them went anywhere near the stairs Akina or Kohana were there, giving them a nasty glare.

Miroku made his way back from the bathroom and shook his head. "Man I swear they have a surveillance camera on the stairs. I put my hand on the banister to fix my shoe and your mom showed up at the top. She's frightening sometimes."

"Why do you think I moved out as soon as possible." Sesshomaru muttered.

"I thought it was because Kagura kept complaining about Inuyasha walking in on you two."

Kohana's voice made all three jump. Shippou was completely oblivious as he was entranced by his movie. "Shit mom, don't do that." Inuyasha said, grabbing his chest.

"Language!" Kohana snapped. "Okay you two can come to the bottom of the stairs now."

Inuyasha noticed the camera his mother was holding and whined at her pitifully, making his brother chuckle. "How many rolls of film do you have this time?" Sesshomaru asked.

When he and his ex-girlfriend Kagura had gone to their graduation Kohana had easily gone through six rolls of film. "Well this is the third roll." Kohana told her step-son.

"Yeah she took an entire roll of film this morning while I brushed my teeth." Inuyasha said.

"Only one?" Sesshomaru teased.

Kohana turned and threw an empty film canister at him, hitting him on the forehead. "Oh leave me alone."

"I just think it's sad that you took more pictures of our dates than you did of your own son." Inuyasha said.

"I do have another empty film case here if you're looking to get hit." Kohana threatened. "Okay girls, come on out."

Sango appeared first and Inuyasha smirked when he heard Miroku's breath hitch. Inuyasha had to admit that Sango looked good. The bust of her dress was white with some kind of floral pattern on it. Underneath the bust was red, but it split about half way down to reveal more white with the same black floral pattern. She had long black gloves on her arms and the necklace that Miroku bought her for Christmas was around her neck.

Inuyasha had to admit his mom had done an amazing job with Sango's hair. Sango always had two styles, high pony tail or loose. Now it was curled and two braids made a crown at the top of the mass of curls. A white flower was tucked into the side. Kagome's mom had done her make up. It was soft and barely there and Inuyasha had a feeling that Sango must have argued to make it so.

He was watching Sango approach Miroku and he never noticed Kagome appear. The scent of Jasmine floated down to him and he turned his head to see her standing at the top of the stairs.

"Man if I knew you were going to be ogling Sango all night I would have asked Sesshomaru to take me." Kagome teased from where she stood.

Sesshomaru smirked at his brother, "I do have a tux at home, give me twenty minutes and I can be your date."

Inuyasha couldn't get his brain to function enough to respond to his brother's threat. Kagome's dress was white with a simple black band at the top of the bust. She moved carefully down the stairs, trying not to step on the bottom of her dress and fall. When she reached the bottom she turned slowly for Inuyasha to see the whole dress.

The back had a black panel through which a white thread of silk was woven, giving the back of the dress a corset-like appearance. When she turned back his eyes widened to see his mother's precious heirloom laying against her skin. It was tradition to pass along the Shikon Jewel from mother to daughter, or in the case of his mother, mother to daughter-in-law.

"Are you trying to wed Kagome and Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked, spotting the jewel.

Kohana rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Kagome is practically my own daughter, so I thought it was fitting to give it to her." Kohana said. "Besides, the girl has enough brains in her head not to get involved with one of your type."

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha eyed her as she began to fiddle with the camera, muttering something about "stupid, overly possessive Inu-Youkai". Inuyasha turned his eyes back to Kagome and smiled shyly at her.

Her hair was pulled back in an elaborate twist that sat at the base of her skull. His mother had put four hair sticks in to hold it in place and they shimmered brightly against her raven locks. Inuyasha found himself wishing that her hair had been left loose, his fingers itching to run through them.

Inuyasha finally blinked as a bright flash made his vision blur. "Oh that's one for the baby book." His mother cooed.

"More like one to embarrass him with at his wedding." Miroku muttered.

Inuyasha shot his friend a warning look before they all finally posed for the million pictures that Kohana and Akina took of them. Finally Sesshomaru tossed him a set of keys and pulled the two mothers away.

"You scratch that car and I'll do more then spar with you." Sesshomaru warned as Kohana and Akina tried to take pictures over his shoulder.

"Car?" Kagome, Sango and Miroku asked.

Inuyasha shrugged and grabbed Kagome's hand, leading her out to the driveway. "Holy shit!" The four of them said in unison.

Sesshomaru had driven his Jaguar over for them to borrow. It wasn't just any old Jag though; it was Sesshomaru's 1965 Jaguar MKII, Sesshomaru's baby. The four of them approached the car like they were approaching royalty. Sesshomaru only drove this car on special occasions and no one ever drove in it with him, not even Jaken.

Kagome smirked as Inuyasha slowly slid the key into the lock and opened the doors. She climbed in and made sure her dress wasn't going to get caught in the door before closing it. Inuyasha started the car and carefully backed out of the driveway.

"You better not go 20 kilometres an hour or we'll never make it to the dinner." Sango teased from the backseat.

Inuyasha tossed her an angry glare in the rear-view mirror before speeding up. They talked comfortably as they drove to grad and when they reached the parking lot Kagome burst out laughing when Inuyasha parked at the far end of the parking lot, well away from the rest of the cars.

"Sesshomaru will skin me alive if there's even a spec of dust on this thing." Inuyasha muttered as he helped her out of the car. Kagome shook her head as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and lead her towards the building.

Kagome looked around her and took everything in as they made their way to the room the dinner and dance was being held in. The whole Hotel had been rented out for the seniors, everyone had arranged rooms and while male/female room sharing was against orders, everyone knew there was ways around it. Miroku and Inuyasha had signed up to get a room together, same with Sango and Kagome. Inuyasha was swapping with Sango though and as soon as they were out of sight of any teachers and chaperones, they swapped keys.

Kagome and Inuyasha stood in line to get their official Graduation picture taken and looked around at everyone. Most of the Youkai had come with full blood or Hanyou dates, though there were the odd few that had human dates.

"Kagome?"

Both Inuyasha and Kagome winced at the sound of Kouga's voice. With a questioning look Kagome turned to face him. "Hey Kouga."

"Wow, you look great." Kouga told her.

"Thanks."

"Look is there any way you'll dance with me later, I just want to talk to you."

Kagome could feel Inuyasha's grip on her waist tighten slightly, but she knew that Kouga wasn't going to try anything. "Sure, I'll come grab you later."

She could feel Inuyasha growling and she slapped his arm lightly. "What was that for?"

"For growling at Kouga." She told him.

"Well why would you say yes to that jerk!" Inuyasha asked as they moved forward in line. "You know what he's like!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Are you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of that wolf?" Inuyasha said the vein in his forehead about ready to pop.

Kagome rolled her eyes and grabbed his chin roughly. "Because you're worried that I'll ditch you to go hang with Kouga, that was always the problem when him and I were dating." She told him. "Inuyasha you have nothing to worry about, I came with you tonight and I'm staying with you."

Inuyasha's expression softened. "Promise?"

"Well unless that cute American exchange student suddenly sweeps me off my feet."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck at the sound of his snarl and they stepped up to get their picture taken. After that they made their way to the table that they were sharing with Miroku, Sango and few other couples that they recognized from around the school but didn't know their names. Everyone talked politely through dinner, they sat through the speech and slide show about the senior class and finally the DJ started to play some music.

After six songs Kagome broke away from Inuyasha to find Kouga for his promised dance. Inuyasha stalked over to the table and threw himself down in a chair. He glared as Kouga pulled Kagome close to him so that they could speak without having to shout over the music.

"You know if Kagome saw you looking at them like that she'd come over here and smack you senseless." Sango said as she sat down.

"Maybe I should make sure she sees me then." He muttered.

Sango leaned forward and grasped his chin in her hand, forcing him to look at her. "Even if she won't admit it, no one ever compared to you."

Sango stood and walked towards Miroku who was leaving the bathroom. Inuyasha stared after her, trying to figure out just what she was trying to say. His ear twitched when he heard the song change and although Kagome was slowly trying to pull away from Kouga, he was letting her go fast enough for Inuyasha.

"Let her go Kouga." Inuyasha said as he stepped up.

Kagome smiled at him gratefully as Kouga dropped his arms and released her. "If you hurt her, I don't care what the law is, I'll come after you." Kouga warned before walking away.

"So what did he want?" Inuyasha asked casually as he wrapped his arms around Kagome's waist and pulled her closer.

Kagome sighed and rested her head on his chest. Inuyasha found himself wondering if she could feel and hear his heart beat increase. "He was apologizing."

Inuyasha tilted her head up to look her in the eye. All comprehension of what he had planned to say was lost to him the moment that he looked her in the eye. "Apologizing takes two seconds."

"He also was trying to find out if he would ever have another chance with me."

"Oh, and what did you say?"

"Told him that there was no chance." Kagome said shyly.

Across the dance floor Sango nudged Miroku and motioned with her head to the two best friends. They couldn't hear what Kagome had said to Inuyasha, but he suddenly smiled brightly and pulled her to him more tightly.

"They look content." Miroku said. "How long do you think it will last?"

"Knowing those two," Sango stated, pulling Miroku's wrist up to look at the watch. "I give it another ten minutes."_  
_  
As Miroku watched the two of them continue to dance slowly long after the song finished, he couldn't help but think that this time Sango was wrong. The way the two of them were looking at each other and holding each other was far to intimate. He began to wonder if he was witnessing an innocent childhood love blossom into something much more.


	18. Chapter 17

**AN: Short filler chapter**

**Still don't own….**

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Inuyasha sighed as the buzzer dinged on the TV. "Why are we playing this stupid game again?" He asked, taking off his vest. 

"Because you challenged Miroku to a battle of wits." Kagome muttered. "God only knows why considering you're both morons."

"Hey!" Inuyasha sighed in frustration and walked over to her. "Can you undo some of these buttons?"

Kagome looked up at him, her left eyebrow twitching. "You can't undo the buttons yourself?"

"It's a rental Kagome; I don't want to rip the shirt!" Inuyasha sighed. "It was bad enough having Miroku do them up."

Kagome shook her head and sat up. She quickly undid the first few buttons, noticing the rosary tucked into his shirt. "You wore it?"

"Yeah, I like it, it's cool." Inuyasha said as Kagome's fingers brushed his skin around his collar. "I didn't get you anything though."

Kagome shrugged. "It's alright, I don't need anything."

Inuyasha nodded, "I'm going to go grab my bag from the car. Apparently Sesshomaru put the bags in there before he came inside."

"Do you want me to come down and help you get Miroku's and Sango's?" Kagome asked.

"Nah, Miroku grabbed them earlier, so it's just our stuff. I'll go get it."

Kagome nodded and turned her attention back to the screen where Miroku was slowly starting to beat their score. "I bet Sango's playing now." She muttered.

Inuyasha laughed and left the room, fiddling with the keys in his pocket. He opted for the stairs since he hated the way the elevator made his ears pop. He ran down the stairs, wanting to get back up to Kagome as soon as possible. He pushed the door roughly and felt it hit someone standing on the other side.

"Shit sorry about that." He muttered without actually looking at the person.

"Hello, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha winced and turned around. "Kikyo." He said through clenched teeth.

Kikyo eyed him, making him feel dirty. "You're looking very well." She whispered to him as she stepped closer.

Inuyasha cursed his luck and fought the urge to roll his eyes. He had seen Kikyo and her boyfriend, Naraku, dancing in the ballroom. In fact, she had spent most of the night making sure that he was able to see her, as if she expected him to run over and beg her to come dance with him. He had seen the unmasked fury when he ignored her and kept all his attention on Kagome.

Inuyasha stepped back and grabbed her hands as she reached for his ears. "Look Kikyo, back off, no one touches my ears."

Kikyo rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "You always let _her _touch them."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and stepped around her. "Kikyo, even if we had stayed together, Kagome and my mother are the only ones who are allowed to touch my ears."

"Are you dating her yet?" Kikyo's voice sounded, making him stop.

"How is that any of your business?" Inuyasha hissed, not turning around.

"Maybe you should think about what you can lose if you don't." Kikyo told him. "I know Naraku was telling me that he finds her very interesting."

Inuyasha turned with a smirk. "So that means you want to lose another boyfriend to her?"

"No it means that if you're not careful you'll lose the one thing that actually means anything to you." Kikyo said, walking away.

Inuyasha walked away, his face etched with confusion. He couldn't tell if Kikyo was threatening or warning him. Forgetting all about the bags, Inuyasha quickly turned and ran back upstairs. He heard Kagome's laughter float through the door before he all but kicked it down.

Kagome looked at him in surprise, the phone cradled under her chin. "Uh, Sango, I'll have to let you go." Kagome said into the phone. "We'll meet you guys for breakfast at 10:30."

She stared at Inuyasha for several long minutes, trying to figure out what was going on. He was leaned against the door, breathing heavily, which Kagome found strange since she couldn't remember ever seeing him winded before.

"Inuyasha, what is it?" Kagome asked, climbing to her feet.

Once she was close enough to her, he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her hips, hugging her tightly. Kagome almost fell backward from the shock of his movement. Once she recovered from the shock she ran her hands through his hair, trying to get him to look up at her. Inuyasha stubbornly buried his face in her stomach, refusing to look her in the eye.

"Okay, you're scaring me, what the hell is wrong?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha looked up at him and Kagome was taken aback by the fear in his eyes. "Promise me something."

"Anything." Kagome whispered softly.

"Promise me you'll never leave me, that you'll never let me lose you."

Kagome's jaw dropped and she hugged him tightly, as his face once again became buried in her stomach. "Inuyasha, you never have to worry about that."

They stayed in that position until Inuyasha's knees became cramped. Kagome finally pulled him to his feet and led him over to the bed, laying down. Inuyasha laid down and wrapped his arms around her tightly and Kagome did the only thing she could think of to reassure him. She held him tightly and let him crush her to his body.

As Kagome drifted off to sleep she realized that it wasn't only Inuyasha that was holding her like a lifeline, she was doing the same to him.


	19. Chapter 18

**"I'm On The Outside" will sadly be coming to an end soon, but I'm already planning a sequel to it. "I'm Looking In" will be posted after this story is finished and it will be focusing on Inuyasha and Kagome's adult life.**

**Lemon warning for this chapter. This is the clean version of this chapter.The link for the full chapter is:http / www . geocities . com / gerrysmistress / ioto18 . html (remove spaces)**

**Picture for this chapter, drawn by Kristin but not specifically for me, just inspiration:**

**http / i2 . photobucket . com / albums / y9 / ralphlauren83 / outside / M10IYK . jpg**

**(remove spaces and don't forget to add the : and the extra / at the beginning)**

**Please visit her site: www . kristinsstudio . com**

**Still don't own, please** **R and R.

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Inuyasha stared at Kagome while she studied. "Okay, name the most prominent events of the second dynasty."

Her voice snapped him out of his day dream. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Kagome threw her pencil at him in frustration. This had to be the twelfth question that she had repeated for him. "What's the matter with you tonight?"

"Nothing," He muttered. "Except the setting."

They were alone in his house, in his bedroom to be more specific. They were sitting on opposite sides of his bed, studying for finals. But that wasn't the only thing that had Inuyasha distracted. Kagome was wearing a pair of shorts that accented her long pale legs. She was also wearing what had to be the tightest shirt that he had ever seen her wear.

"What did you say?" She demanded.

"Uh, I said that I'm getting hungry." Inuyasha said quickly. "How about we take a break?"

Kagome shrugged. "Sure, why not."

They left his room and walked down to the kitchen. Inuyasha opened the fridge and examined the contents while Kagome sat at the counter. She watched Inuyasha slip into his own little world again and reached for the sink that she was sitting beside. Watching him carefully she slowly removed the hose attached to the sink. His ears didn't even twitch in her direction, indicating that he had been so lost in thought he hadn't heard her. She pressed the button down gently before turning the water on full blast.

Inuyasha screamed as cold water hit the back of his head. He turned to glare at Kagome, only to be blasted in the face. Before she could squirt him again, he ran around the counter and grabbed the wrist that held the hose. Soon the battle was on, Inuyasha having the obvious strength advantage.

Kagome's free hand reached up and rubbed his left ear, making him freeze in place. She smirked as a small moan escaped his throat. The smirk disappeared just as quickly as he inhaled sharply.

"Inuyasha?" She whispered, making him look up.

He didn't say anything to her as his lips started to descend on hers. A part of Kagome's brain told her not to kiss him that at this point it could ruin their friendship. Another part of her was reminding her that she had already kissed him and that things had been awkward for awhile. The final part of her was screaming over the other two, telling her to go for it. He stopped millimetres from her lips and Kagome was suddenly doused with cold water.

She didn't know which pissed her off more, being soaked or being tricked. She stared at Inuyasha, who was currently doubled over laughing at her.

"Oh yeah, laugh it up dog boy." Kagome hissed.

Kagome spun on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen. "Oh come on Kagome, it was funny!" Inuyasha said as he followed her. "Besides you did it to me first."

She slammed the front door closed as she left, not thinking about the fact that she had left everything in his house. She finally realized it when she tried to get into her locked car.

"Fuck!" She shouted, slamming her fist down on the roof.

She pressed her back against her car and slid down the side, sitting on the warm pavement. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She knew that she was over reacting, he was right, she had done it first.

"Only I didn't pretend to kiss him to get the upper hand." She muttered.

Kagome found herself wondering yet again when her feelings had not only crossed the line between love of a friendly nature and true love, but it also erased that line completely. She had talked to Sango and Miroku about out, only to be told that it was: "About time she had pulled her head out of her ass", as Miroku had so delicately put it.

When she asked them what they thought she should do, they told her to make a move. Unfortunately even with the reassurances that Inuyasha would be all over it, her fear of being rejected and losing her best friend was too much for her to bear.

Kagome rested her chin on her knees and sighed, wondering if her pride was bruised too badly to go back inside to get her car keys. She jumped slightly when a fat rain drop landed on her nose, followed quickly by a steady downpour.

"Perfect." She muttered to herself. "I can't get into my car, Inuyasha will just bruise my fragile ego even more if I go back in there, and now I'm going to drown in his driveway."

"So that's what you were planning on doing." Inuyasha's voice sounded through the distant rumble of thunder.

Kagome looked up at him, his silver hair was plastered to his face and his ears were laying flat against his skull. She fought her giggles when they would twitch from time to time as rain drops would land directly on them.

"Did you at least come out here to let me into my car?" She asked him.

"No, I came out here to keep you from freezing to death." Inuyasha told her. "Now are you going to come in willingly, or do I have to drag you?"

"No, I'll come. My pride is in enough pain as it is." Kagome said, taking his outstretched hand.

They walked back into his house. Kagome shivered as the cool air inside caressed her skin. She didn't realize how cold she was until then.

"Why don't you go take a hot shower and get warmed up." Inuyasha suggested to her.

Kagome nodded, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, seeking some kind of heat. She kicked off her shoes and climbed the stairs to the bathroom. Inuyasha followed behind her, needing to dry off himself.

He grabbed a towel from the bathroom before leaving Kagome to her shower. He changed his clothes and began rummaging through a drawer that contained some of Kagome's clothes and other essentials.

After years of lugging clothes back and forth to each others houses and often spending the night on a whim without any clothes or other essentials, Kagome suggested just leaving a few spares at each others houses.

After digging through, even finding some clothing that made him blush slightly, Inuyasha couldn't find anything that would keep Kagome warm. He pulled out a pair of his sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt and laid them on his bed.

He turned his ears towards the bathroom and could still hear water running. He gathered his soaked clothing and slowly pushed the door to the bathroom open. He almost dropped his clothes when he saw Kagome through the now see-through shower curtain. He quickly snatched up her soaked clothes and all but ran from the room.

"How the hell did I forget about the shower curtain?" He pondered as he made his way down to the laundry room. He threw the clothes into the washing machine and watched the water level rise. "Great, now I'm going to have dirty thoughts about her all night."

He walked back up to his room, trying to banish the thoughts that his eighteen year old brain was starting to come up with. Sure over the years he had more than noticed how gorgeous she had become, he was an eighteen year-old male and he was part dog Youkai. It had taken every bit of self restraint not to kiss her in the kitchen. After all, both Sango and Miroku told him just to go for it.

He couldn't hear the water running, but his bedroom door was open. He assumed that Kagome had grabbed the clothes he had left out for her, before returning to the bathroom to change. He entered his room, lost in thought, only to stop dead at the sight before him.

Kagome had her back to him. The jogging pants he had left out were sitting low on her hips and her torso was bare. Inuyasha could make out the curve of her breasts as she ran the towel over her skin to absorb the extra moisture. A few droplets escaped her hair and rolled down her bare back. Inuyasha decided that for once he'd listen to Miroku and Sango.

Kagome didn't know why she was taking the time to wipe off the water droplets. Logically her problem would have been solved if she just wrapped up her soaking hair. Then again, she had also made sure to leave the bedroom door open in case Inuyasha walked by, so she wasn't high on the intelligence scale at the moment. She knew that she was tempting fate and risking a lot, but she had to find out if Miroku and Sango were right.

She didn't hear Inuyasha sneak up behind her, and she jumped when she felt moist heat against her skin as he licked a water trail on her back away. She fought a gasp and decided to play coy with him. After all, she knew better than anyone what he had always wanted from his girlfriends. Grasping the t-shirt tightly to her chest she slowly turned to face him.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, hoping she sounded shy.

Inuyasha stared at her in awe. He knew everything he needed to know from the changes in her scent, and briefly wondered why he hadn't been able to smell her presence in the room before he entered. He blamed that on the fact that he had been trying to push some creative thoughts of Kagome out of his head at the time.

"Don't." He whispered to her, catching onto her game.

Her scent grew more powerful and he wanted to wrap himself in it. Kagome dropped the act as he pulled her to him. It was just like before down in the kitchen, only this time they both knew that he wasn't trying to gain any advantage.

His lips closed over hers and he had to fight back a whine at the velvety softness of them. Every memory of kissing Kagome in the past came flooding back to him and what started as a chaste kiss became more dangerous and passionate. Kagome's tongue ran confidently along his bottom lip and Inuyasha was more than happy to fulfill her silent request.

They both groaned when their tongues met and Inuyasha pulled Kagome tighter to him. They kissed feverishly for several long moments before Kagome broke the kiss. Inuyasha pressed his forehead against hers as they both struggled to regain their breath.

"God, I've wanted to do that for so long." He whispered to her. "Ever since that night at the club, this is all I've wanted from you."

Kagome grinned at him and linked her fingers through his. "Then why stop there?"

Inuyasha pulled away slightly to look down at her. "Do you mean what I think you mean?"

Kagome sighed and ran her hand through his silky locks. "Inuyasha, over the past few months I realized that I can't be just your friend anymore." She told him. "Do you want to know why I refuse Kouga?"

"Because he's an idiot?"

Kagome giggled and shook her head. "Because we're meant to be together, we just never wanted to admit it." She told him. "We're meant to spend our lives together."

Inuyasha nodded, "What are you asking of me, Kagome?" He asked, tucking her still wet hair behind her ears. "This is forever for me, so I won't do anything unless you ask me flat out."

Kagome smiled at him confidently. "Inuyasha I want you to take me as your mate. To mark not only my body, but my soul, so no other man may have me or my heart."

Inuyasha smiled brightly. "I take you as my mate. My heart, soul and body are yours, just as yours are mine."

He pressed his lips back against hers in a passionate kiss that made Kagome's toes curl. He reached between them and pulled the t-shirt away from her body. Kagome blushed under his constant stare before deciding to make things even.

She grasped his shirt and pulled it up his body. Some where along the way, the shirt twisted, trapping Inuyasha's head inside. She giggled as they struggled to free him of the fabric, helping to relieve some of her anxiety.

When Inuyasha finally managed to free himself, he pulled Kagome back to him. They both groaned as their flesh met, unrestricted from the barrier of clothing. In the past only the bare flesh of their stomachs met when they held each other like this, since Kagome was always wearing something over her breasts. Inuyasha dragged Kagome's lips back to his and pulled her so tightly against him that she swore he was trying to pull her inside.

He pulled away from her mouth and rained kisses across her jaw as he moved towards her ear. He flicked his tongue against the sensitive lobe, making Kagome moan and arch against him. He gently closed his teeth over it, using one of his fangs to gently nibble on it. He almost bit her ear off when her fingers brushed lightly against his own ears. The sensation sent shockwaves of pleasure through his whole body.

Kagome smirked at him and rolled his soft ears between her fingers. "So this is why you like your ears to be played with."

Inuyasha's eyes were closed and he was breathing fast. "No," He muttered, "You and my mom are the only people that I let touch them. Although after this I think it would be wrong if mom grabbed them."

"You like it that much?" He thrust his hips, causing his groin to press against Kagome's hip. She could feel exactly how turned on he was, and the knowledge that she had done that to him aroused her even more. "Well that answers my question."

Inuyasha growled low in his throat and started walking forward, guiding Kagome back. "Enough talk."

Kagome's legs hit the mattress and she let him guide her onto it. He ran his hands up and down her sides, lightly caressing her skin. Kagome's bottom lip was between her teeth as she allowed the sensations to wash over her.

"Where do you want me to mark you?" He asked her softly.

"Anywhere," She whispered to him, barely able to for a coherent thought. "Hell, everywhere."

Inuyasha grinned and kissed her passionately. He felt her hands on the waist of his pants and let her fingers tickly the sensitive skin there. Kagome pushed the pants he was wearing off his hips before he stood up and let them fall to his feet. Her breath caught as he stood before her in all his glory, completely unashamed of his obvious arousal.

He reached under her and pulled the jogging pants she was wearing off her body. He stepped out of the pants that were pooled around his feet, tossing Kagome's over his shoulder. He reached down and grasped her hands in his, pulling her into a sitting position. He climbed onto the bed, moving around behind her.

Kagome watched him out of the corner of her eye as he lay down slightly. She groaned when he pressed his lips to the small of her back. Inuyasha took his time kissing, biting and licking a trail up her spine to the place where his mark would rest. He pushed her long hair aside as he worked his way up. When he reached the base of her neck, he growled slightly at the memory of the bruised flesh from Kouga.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked when she heard him growl.

"When Kouga tried to mark you, did he hurt you at all?"

"Well yeah, you saw how dark the bruise was. I thought that maybe the pain was part of the deal." Kagome admitted softly.

"It's not supposed to hurt at all if you do it right." Inuyasha told her. "Well maybe a little. I asked my mom and she said that she barely felt it."

Kagome was about to tell him that she didn't want to be thinking of his mother while in this position when his hands cupped her breasts. She groaned as his teeth scraped against her skin and cried out softly when one of his canines pierced her skin.

He was right, it hadn't really hurt, the feeling had caught her off guard more than anything. She could feel something warm drip down on the back of her neck before she felt his claw drawing some sort of pattern on her skin. When he was done, he crawled around to the front of her and kissed her tenderly as he guided her head to the pillows.

She noticed a small cut that was rapidly healing on his left pectoral, above his heart. She could already see a silver scar forming in the shape of a kanji that she couldn't read.

"When it heals it will look like a tattoo." He whispered against her lips.

Kagome's stomach muscles jumped when Inuyasha's fingers brushed against it. "Are you nervous?" She whispered to him.

"No," He told her, even though she could hear the slight tremble in his voice. "Who better to experience this with then my best friend and the woman I love."

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They rode through the after shocks of erotic bliss as Inuyasha collapsed on her, utterly spent. He nuzzled his head under her chin as she wrapped her arms around him. 

They stayed like that for several minutes as the caught their breath. Inuyasha slowly pushed his torso up, his arms under her shoulders, his rosary hanging in front of her face. Kagome's arms fell off his shoulders and fell to the side. As he stared down at her he couldn't help but grin at the sight of her flushed faces and sweat slicked skin. It pleased him to know that he was the reason her body looked the way it did.

"So?" He asked, his grin getting bigger by the second.

Kagome reached under her head and freed her hair, making it fan around her head. "Great now I have to stroke your ego?" She teased.

Inuyasha chuckled and leaned down to kiss her gently. "Is that what you're going to call it from now on?"

"You perv!" She exclaimed, wincing as Inuyasha pulled himself from her body.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, suddenly concerned that he had hurt her more than he meant to.

"Am I alright?" Kagome asked. "Inuyasha I have one word for you: daaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg."

Inuyasha laughed and laid his head down on her chest. "Good, I'm glad."

Kagome smiled and ran her hands through his hair, deciding that for once she'd let Miroku and Sango have the satisfaction of knowing that they were right.


	20. Chapter 19

**AN: A few people asked about the link to the unedited version. I had to put spaces into make it appear because everytime I didn't the link disappeared on me. If you want to read the lemon you can message me or email me, my email is on my profile, and I'll be more than happy to send you the link.**

**I still don't own Inuyasha.**

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**Kagome woke up to the feeling of unwelcome pressure on her lower belly. She had to pee desperately and she had a feeling that moving Inuyasha off of her was going to be a challenge. She laid still and thought of her choices for a few moments. She had managed to come up with absolutely nothing helpful, especially since she had never had to think of a way to get out of a situation like this before. 

"Inuyasha," She said softly, shaking him. "Inuyasha, I need you to move."

Inuyasha moaned in his sleep and snuggled closer to her, pressing against her already hurting bladder. Each time she tried to squirm away, his grip only tightened. She tried everything she could think of, kissing his neck, playing with his ears, whispering to him, but nothing worked.

"Alright, as hott as it would be for an 18 year old to wet the bed, get up!" She said, bringing a hand up to her mouth. She quickly stuck her index finger and thumb into her mouth and blew.

Inuyasha's ears slammed back at the sudden shrill of her whistle. If she hadn't had to pee so badly she would have laughed at the way he shot to the other end of his bed. With a cry of joy, and ignoring the fact that she was stark naked, Kagome leapt from the bed and ran for the bathroom. If she could have she would have moaned in the pleasure of finally being able to empty her bladder. She briefly wondered if it was a bad sign that she could physically feel her bladder deflating.

She was about to leave the bathroom when she opted to having a shower. Her skin felt sticky from the dried film of sweat, and while the memories of the reason for that sheen made her feel tingly, the feeling of being sticky did nothing for her.

She turned the dials of the shower, letting the water heat up before she stepped in. Kagome laughed to herself as she realized that a few hours earlier this had been the cause of their "study break". She had caught Inuyasha entering the room out of the corner of her eye; it was that action that had caused her to see if Miroku and Sango were right.

With a sigh she stuck her head under the water, she knew she didn't need to wash it, but the feeling of the hot water cascading over her body just felt too damn good. She sighed and let her head fall against the cool tile, her hands reaching up to rest on either side of it.

"Damn." She heard behind her before she found herself pressed against the wall, Inuyasha's lips on the fresh mark on her neck.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, slightly amused.

"I heard the shower running and decided that I'd conserve water by having one with you." Inuyasha mumbled against her skin.

Kagome giggled when she heard him blow out a puff of air, signalling that he had gotten a mouthful of her hair. "You want to tell me something?" Kagome said, turning in his arms, ignoring the fact that he looked extremely good with water dripping down his body.

"What?"

"Why do demons mark their mates?" Kagome said. "It just seems a little cliché and pointless in this day and age. I know Myouga said it used to be all about protection from warring Youkai clans, but there isn't much of that now."

Inuyasha's left eyebrow twitched in amusement. "Are you telling me that marking is over used?"

"I dunno, I guess it just seems a little strange to me, especially for a dog." Kagome teased. "My aunt breeds dogs and I've never seen them bite each other!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'm a dog-demon!" He growled. "Demon's are magical and mystical, that's why we mark our mates."

"Couldn't you have marked me without biting me?" Kagome asked, pulling her head back when he tried to kiss her to shut her up. "I mean, Kouga did that, Sesshomaru bit me to get rid of the marks, isn't there some other way to do it? And what was that wet stuff that dripped onto my neck?"

"First of all, do you really have to mention Kouga and my brother while I'm standing here naked with you? You really know how to ruin the mood." Kagome stuck out her tongue at him. Inuyasha ducked his head and sucked her tongue into his mouth. They kissed lazily for a few minutes before he pulled away from her.

"As for the biting, it's really because it's done in the heat of the moment. There are plenty of ways to mark, especially since mixing of blood is what creates the bond."

"Mixing of blood?" Kagome asked.

"Well yeah." Inuyasha said. "That's what I dripped onto your neck. I had to mix my blood with yours and draw a kanji into your skin with our mixed blood."

Kagome's left eyebrow rose. "Wait, you said it will look like a tattoo right?" Inuyasha nodded. "You better not have written 'Inuyasha's bitch' on my skin."

Inuyasha stared at her in shock for several minutes before bursting into laughter. "Oh my God! If I could have, I so should have."

Kagome sighed and moved the shower curtain to step out of the shower before reaching down and turning the cold on full blast. She smiled as the sound of his shriek met her ears. She wrapped a towel around herself and made her way to his room, digging for some clothes.

"That wasn't very nice you know." He said, leaning against the door frame.

"Inuyasha use a towel!" Kagome muttered when she noticed that he was sans towel.

Inuyasha smirked and strolled over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and once more buried his face in her neck. "You know you like it."

Kagome fought the moan that was rising in her throat. "So what did you write on me anyway?"

"I wrote 'mate'." He explained. "It's the only thing that we're allowed to write. It then morphs into the crest of the family."

Kagome turned and looked at his chest. The silvery scar was already starting to turn black. "So that's your family crest?" She asked, tracing her fingers over the mark.

"Nope, that's yours. My family crest is on your skin. Once I wrote the kanji on you, I had to write it above my heart. It morphed into your family crest. That way other demons know which family we mated into."

"So it's kind of like human women changing their last name." Kagome said.

"Yeah." Inuyasha told her, turning her to face him. "Now do you have anymore questions, because you in that towel is really starting to give me some creative ideas."

Kagome giggled and allowed Inuyasha to pull her to him. She soon found herself leaning over his arm and the combination of his pull and her lean made them both gasp. Inuyasha's hand moved to pull the towel away from Kagome when the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them interrupted them.

Kagome and Inuyasha's heads turned in unison, their mouths still pressed together. "I could have sworn I locked the front door." He muttered against Kagome's mouth.

Sesshomaru smirked and twirled his keys around on his finger. "You did, but you obviously forgot that your brother has a spare key."

Kagome pressed her finger against her lips to hold in her giggles. "Yeah well my mind was otherwise engaged." Inuyasha said, Kagome still draped over his arm.

"Obviously your mind isn't the only thing that is otherwise engaged. What if I had been Kohana?" Sesshomaru said.

"Then I'd be dying a very slow and painful death." Inuyasha admitted. "Now, if you don't mind!"

Sesshomaru walked into the room and flopped down on his brother's bed. "Oh by all means."

Kagome laughed at Inuyasha's growl, but didn't like the smirk that crossed his face. "Hey Sess, guess where you're lying."

Kagome felt her face burst into a bright blush as realization dawned on Sesshomaru's face. "Ugh!" He said, throwing himself from the rumpled bed. "Dude, give me some warning next time!"

Inuyasha laughed as Kagome, currently doing her best impression of a tomato, pulled herself away from Inuyasha and made a mad dash for the bathroom. Inuyasha watched her close the door, a satisfied smile on his face. He turned back to Sesshomaru, who was watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"For one, would you mind putting some pants on or something. It was bad enough I had to bathe you when you were a pup." Sesshomaru said.

Inuyasha turned red as he pulled on a pair of sweat pants, throwing a few curses over at his brother. "Now, tell me."

"I was just thinking that I've never seen you look so happy." Sesshomaru said.

"Jealous?" Inuyasha smirked.

"Ha!" Sesshomaru burst out. "This Sesshomaru does not get jealous."

"This Sesshomaru?" A feminine voice said. Color flooded Sesshomaru's face as he glanced over at Kagome. "Is that some weird Youkai way of speaking in third person?"

"Shut up Kagome!" Sesshomaru muttered.

"Come on Sess, tell me some more demon characteristics, this Kagome commands it."

Sesshomaru let out a growl before storming out of the room, his brother's laughter following him out the door.

* * *

Kagome walked into the kitchen of her own house the next morning, her clothes folded over one arm. "How was studying last night?" Akina asked looking up from the pot she was stirring. 

"It was fine." Kagome told her, tossing her clothes on a chair. She caught her mother studying them and quickly decided that she needed a cover story. "We took a break and went on a walk. We got caught in the rain."

"So why didn't you just wash your clothes at Inuyasha's house?" Akina asked.

"I did, but I was comfy in these clothes and decided to stay in them. Need any help?" Kagome said, diverting any more questions.

"Yeah, would you mind peeling those carrots for me?" Akina asked. "Souta's school is having a Pot-Luck tonight, why don't you invite your friends over? That way you can do some more studying."

Kagome almost started blushing at that statement, but quickly sat down at the table, looking at the large pile of carrots to be peeled. Kagome had peeled a good twenty carrots when the phone rang. Akina answered it before handing it over to Kagome.

"Hello?" Kagome said, as she cradled the phone awkwardly on her shoulder.

"Hey!" Sango said.

"Hey yourself, what's up?"

"I need your help," Whatever else Sango said was lost to Kagome as the phone slipped away.

With a sigh Kagome set down the carrot she was peeling and picked the phone back up. "Hang on Sango; I gotta tie my hair up."

Kagome reached across the table and quickly grabbed a pen from the basket in the middle. She quickly wrapped her hair up into a messy bun and stuck the pen through it to hold it up.

"Okay, sorry, I dropped the phone, what did you need?" She asked, resuming her peeling.

"I said, it's me and Miroku's two year anniversary tonight, and he wants to take me somewhere fancy. Can you meet me at the mall in a couple of hours and help me find something?" Sango pleaded.

"Why not just wear your grad dress?" Kagome teased.

"That's too fancy, come one Kagome, I need your help."

Kagome laughed and nodded, even though her friend couldn't see her. "Yeah, alright. I'll pick you up at two." _If I ever get through these carrots._

She felt Akina take the phone from her and heard the beep of the phone disconnecting. She turned to thank her mother when she noticed that she was being stared at strangely.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, turning in her seat completely.

"What's that on your neck?"

Kagome's eyes widened and her hand shot up to cover the back of her neck. She could feel the raised skin of her mark and silently cursed her stupidity. "Um, it's a scratch?"

Akina's eyes lowered into an amused glare. "Funny; that 'scratch' looks just like the mate mark that Kohana has on her shoulder." Akina took a step closer to her daughter, pulling the chair out so she could step behind Kagome. "Exactly like it."

Akina watched in amusement as a blush swiftly flew up Kagome's neck, making the black scar stand out even more. "Mom, I can explain."

"No offence kiddo, but I really don't want to know." Akina said, sitting down beside her. "I'm not dumb, I know what that mark means, and I know it's not a protection mark."

"There's a difference?" Kagome asked.

"Yep, protection marks only appear when the bearer is threatened. Mate marks are always visible."

"Stupid fucker could have told me that." Kagome muttered.

"Language!" Akina hissed.

"So you're not mad at me?" Kagome asked.

"No, I knew it would happen eventually, I'm a little disappointed in you that you didn't wait." Akina muttered. "What happens when you go to college and move on with your life? A mating isn't an easy bond to break."

Kagome sighed and buried her face in her hands. "How do you know so much about this?"

"Oh please, Kohana and I have been discussing this since you and Inuyasha were nine years old."

Kagome's head raised enough so that she could peer over her fingertips. "I feel like I'm in an arranged marriage."

Akina laughed and stood up. "You need to finish those carrots if you're going to pick Sango up on time."

Kagome sighed and resumed her work, but paused after several minutes. "Mom, how do you think Kohana will take this?"

Akina giggled, "Inuyasha's going to be six feet under."


	21. Chapter 20

**AN: Sorry for the wait between updates. I've been out of town and sick with food poisoning... yuck. This chapter's been edited due to lyrical and citrus content. for the full chapter go to: www . geocities . com / gerrysmistress / ioto20 . html remove the spaces and if you can't get it then just email or message me and I'll happily send you the link.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own them.**

**

* * *

**Kagome pulled up to Sango's house and honked her horn. She was fiddling with her sunglasses as her friend finally appeared, sliding into the front seat. "Hey." Kagome said turning to look at her friend. "What?" 

Sango was staring at her with a mischievous grin. "You're looking absolutely…_ravished_."

Kagome blushed and quickly lowered the mirror in her sun visor. "How the hell can you tell?"

Sango's jaw dropped. "You mean, you actually…" She trailed off, staring at her friend.

"What the hell?" Kagome asked. "Why do you look so surprised if you already knew what happened?"

"I didn't!" Sango insisted. "I called your place last night and Souta said that Inuyasha had dropped off Shippou and the two of you went back to his place to study. Miroku made some asinine comment about how the only thing you two would be studying was anatomy."

"More like sex ed." Kagome muttered.

Sango gave her friend an impressed look. "So who made the first move?"

Kagome spent the rest of the trip filling Sango in. Even though her friend begged her for more vivid details Kagome refused to give her any. They walked through several stores, taking several hours before Sango found the "perfect" dress. Kagome sighed with relief. She wanted to hang out with Sango, but her body was still tired and sore from the night before.

Sango grabbed Kagome's arm and dragged her into a shoe store. Kagome slumped into a chair while Sango looked around. After making a number of selections she plopped herself down with at least a dozen boxes of shoes. Kagome picked up a box and began to dig out the shoes for Sango to try on.

"So when do you think you two are going to, you know, again." Sango said, trying to be sly but failing miserably.

Kagome stared at Sango in shock. "Living vicariously through me?"

"No, just curious." Sango told her as she pulled on a par of shoes. "I mean if I had denied myself that kind of pleasure for ten years, I'd be doing it every minute that I could."

Kagome's jaw dropped as she stared at Sango in shock. "What did you just say?"

"Did I stutter?"

Kagome shook her head; her face was probably hot enough to fry an egg on it. She grabbed another box and opened it up. "Uh, Sango, I don't think these will go with your dress."

Sango was grinning at her and she picked up one of the shoes. "I also don't wear this size." She teased. "Try them on."

Kagome plucked the shoes out of the box, fingering the stiff material. "How the hell do I get this thing on?" She muttered.

Sango motioned for Kagome to prop her leg up on the seat. She gently eased Kagome's foot into the bottom circle and worked the fabric around Kagome's calf. Once both shoes were on, Kagome had to admit that even though she looked like a dork, holding her jeans up, the shoes were definitely sexy.

"Where the hell would I wear these?" Kagome asked.

"In your house," Sango said. "Those shoes are meant to be worn and not taken off."

Kagome blushed, catching Sango's meaning. "I don't want to know where you got that idea from."

Sango laughed. "I've seen it in movies."

Kagome stared at her reflection a little longer. Sango could swear she saw a light bulb click on above her friend's head, not really liking the smirk that crossed Kagome's face. "Hey Sango, want to give your best friend a hand?"

* * *

Inuyasha was lounging on the couch, mindlessly flipping through the channels. He missed Kagome like crazy and they had only been separated a few hours. From time to time his hand would drift inside his shirt and touch the raised skin of his mark, each time bringing a smile to his face. 

"Hey you." Kohana said, appearing in the room.

Inuyasha jumped, quickly pulling his hand out of his shirt. He had been so lost in thought he never heard his mother enter the room. It felt wrong to be caught touching his mate mark.

"Hey mom." Inuyasha said, sitting up. "How was the conference?"

"Boring, all the investors do is talk about splitting up the business. I swear if I hadn't promised your father that I would look after things I'd just sell the damn industry and be done with it." She noticed that Inuyasha was back to touching the same spot on his chest. "Did Myouga drop by while I was away?"

"No, was he supposed to?" Inuyasha asked as he continued to absently rub his mark.

"No, you just keep rubbing your chest." Kohana told him. "Myouga always used to bite your father on the chest or neck before officially making his presence known to us."

Inuyasha's hand shot out of his shirt. "Oh no, I'm fine."

Kohana's left eyebrow rose slowly, indicating that she didn't believe her son. "Let me see."

"What! Why?"

"Because knowing you and your brother, you got into a fight and he hurt you. I want to make sure you don't have a gaping hole in your chest." Kohana said.

Inuyasha quickly crossed the room, trying to escape his mother's glare. "Mom, it's nothing, it's probably just a mosquito bite or something."

"Humour your mother. I just want to make sure that you're not covering anything up." Inuyasha tried to move out of the room, but his mother's next command stopped him dead in his tracks. "Inuyasha, _sit_!"

Inuyasha winced, swearing he heard the chair crack under the force of his body being thrown into it. Kohana approached him and began to move the cloth aside, exposing his mark. "Mom, stop it!"'

"Inuyasha Tashio!" Kohana exclaimed as her fingers brushed his now fully healed mark. "What did you do!"

Inuyasha cringed away from her hand. "Should I expect a rolled up newspaper?"

Kohana gave him a nasty look. "Don't tempt me." She said, studying the mark more closely. "I don't believe you!"

"What?" Inuyasha snapped. "You adore Kagome!"

"I do, and I'm ecstatic that you both finally realized that you're in love," She started. "But honey, a marking isn't something that should be done in the heat of a moment. It's supposed to be done after years of courtship and consideration."

"This coming from the woman who got marked in a stable after six months of courtship." Inuyasha muttered.

Kohana scowled and tweaked his ears roughly. "Don't be cheeky."

"Mom, I know that I want to be with Kagome for the rest of my life. I always have known it in one way or another." Inuyasha said. "I thought that you'd be happy."

"I am happy, but you're so young!" Kohana said. "What happens when you both go to college, what if you decide that you don't want to be together any more? What if one of you goes abroad and decides they like it over there?"

"I'll follow Kagome to the ends of the earth mom." Inuyasha said. "I love her more than anything."

Kohana sighed and rubbed her temple. "Well you better hope that Kagome breaks this to Akina and her grandfather without you around."

"Why?"

"Because how would I explain to the school that you're going to miss finals because you got your ass purified?"

Inuyasha's mouth dropped open, but before he could respond to his mother his phone rang. "H-hello?"

"Okay, so either you told her and you're looking at whatever weapon that she's going to kill you with, or she just said something that shocked you." Kagome's voice floated over the phone.

"Let's just say she took it rather well." Inuyasha said with a smirk. "What's up?"

"Well I was wondering," Kagome started, but was quickly interrupted. "Ow, gramps!"

Inuyasha could hear the muffled exchange, before Kagome's grandfather's voice sounded clearly. "What are your intentions to my granddaughter?"

Inuyasha grimaced slightly at the acidic tone. "They're honourable, I swear."

"Give me that." He heard Kagome's voice in the background. "Anyway, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come over tonight."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Inuyasha asked. "I don't feel like having to pull ofuda's out of my hair all night."

"Mom, Souta and Gramps are all going to a pot luck at Souta's school."

Kohana laughed at the sight of Inuyasha's ears shooting up. "Really?" He asked. "How long are they gonna be gone till?"

"At least 11. They're leaving right now, so that gives us a good," Kagome trailed off.

Inuyasha looked at the clock and saw it was four. "Seven hours." He breathed out. "I'll be right over."

* * *

Kagome fiddled with the CD player nervously, how she had let Sango convince her this was a good idea was beyond her. She had originally planed on trying to find something sexy to wear while at the mall, but then Sango turned it into a whole production. 

Kagome hadn't been able to find much that appealed to her, and she knew that Inuyasha would find her sexy in anything. But when she went to Sango's to help her friend get ready for the big celebration, Sango had come up with some hair brained scheme.

She saw the lights of Inuyasha's car run through the house, signalling that he was at the bottom of the Shrine steps. She pressed play and moved into the kitchen, rolling her eyes at the thought of how stupid she was going to look.

She had on a pair of black hot pants and a black tank top. She quickly grabbed the broom before adjusting her shoes and turned her back to the kitchen door.

Inuyasha approached the door at the back of the house. He heard music playing and his ears twitched as he caught the lyrics.

He never took Kagome for someone to listen to this kind of song, she tended to go more for old rock music then anything.

His ears continued to twitch as he silently slid open the back door of her house. He picked up her scent and knew that she was in the kitchen so he slowly crept towards the room.

Inuyasha entered the room and his breath caught in his throat. Kagome's hot pants weren't the shortest he had ever seen, but they still hugged the curve of her backside perfectly. He licked his lips as her hips swayed to the music as she swept the floor.

His eyes drank in the sight of her long legs exposed for him to stare at and he felt himself twitch at the sight of the shoes that she had on her legs. He had to fight the urge to throw her down on the floor and have his way with her, with her shoes still on.

He moved silently behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, a hand sliding into her shirt. His hand caressed the sensitive skin of her stomach as he flicked his tongue over her mark. "Do you always clean the house half naked?"

Kagome groaned and pushed her backside against his crotch as she swayed her hips to the beat of the song. Inuyasha bit his lip as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Kagome was applying enough pressure to arouse him, but was keeping her touch light enough that it didn't give him any real satisfaction.

Kagome turned to face him, resting her hands on his chest. She continued to sway her hips to the beat, wrapping one leg around his and rolling her hips against his very obvious arousal. Inuyasha's groan came out as a whine as she pressed her hip against him with just the right amount of pressure.

Kagome pushed against his chest roughly to make him step backwards. Inuyasha stubbornly refused to move at first, until Kagome raked one of her finger nails over his nipple. He gasped and allowed her to move him backward. He didn't want to give up domination to her, but he was curious to see an aggressive side come out of his normally passive best friend.

Inuyasha's knees buckled as he hit the seat of the chair. Kagome gently guided him onto it, before lowering herself on to his lap. She bucked her hips in time to the music, making Inuyasha growl and grip her hips. She grinned at him before roughly grabbing the back of his head and pulling his lips to hers.

Her hands trailed down to his shirt and slowly undid the buttons of it, raking her nails over the exposed skin gently. Inuyasha's hips bucked involuntarily, allowing her to feel how much her domination excited him.

"I could break out a dog collar and leash if you'd like." Kagome teased. "Or perhaps a rolled up newspaper."

Inuyasha shot her a nasty look that made her burst out laughing. Her laughter was quickly cut off by his lips pressing hungrily against hers. She gasped as he roughly pulled her shirt over her head and drew one of her breasts into his mouth. Kagome let out a choked groan and arched into his mouth, her hands flying to his ears.

Inuyasha smirked against her skin as she quickly gave up dominance to let him pleasure her, forgetting that they were sitting in the middle of her kitchen. He could smell her arousal drifting around them and it made him whine in excitement. He reached his hand down and slowly slid it into her shorts, feeling exactly what he was doing to her.

He quickly stood up, allowing Kagome to hook her legs around his waist. He couldn't figure out exactly how he managed to climb the stairs as she started to rock against him, pressing her lips heavily against his.

* * *

She was startled to hear a loud growl escape his lips. When Kagome opened her eyes she gasped at the sight of the violet crests that appeared on Inuyasha's cheeks. She realized that with his Youkai blood quickly taking over, things could quickly go wrong. She touched his cheeks gently, making him look at her. She pulled his face down to hers and pressed her lips against one of his crests. 

"Mine." She whispered to him.

Inuyasha had to bite back a howl as he released into Kagome's body, making her quiver around him. Inuyasha collapsed on top of her, raining kisses over every inch of skin he could reach.

"You okay?" He asked, smelling the lingering scent of her fear.

"I'm fine." Kagome said. "You went a little full-Youkai on me for a minute there."

"I think it was your damn shoes that did me in." He teased as he rested his head on her breasts. Kagome snickered at that sentence. "What's so funny?"

"Sango said that they were the type of shoes that shouldn't be taken off." Kagome said, making him laugh as he snuggled into her body and allowed sleep to take over.


	22. Chapter 21

**AN: Here it is, the final chapter of "I'm On The Outside". There is name added later in this chapter: Keitsuyoi which means strong/powerful (Kei- Strong, Tsuyoi- Powerful). I am currently debating writing a story of how Inuyasha's mother and father met, just because I intend on covering their family history a bit more in the sequel. Look for "I'm Looking In" in the next couple of days.**

**I don't own it…I think we all know that by now.

* * *

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"Congratulations to our graduating class!"

Cheers burst through the crowd and graduation caps were thrown into the air. Many people laughed while covering their heads as their hats rained down on them. The seniors left their seats in search of the friends that they knew they might not ever see again.

At the back of the group several people wisely moved out of the way as a raven haired girl ran to her silver haired love.

Inuyasha laughed as Kagome threw herself into his arms. He had to take several steps back as the force of her body threw him off balance, much like it had when she used to do it when they were children. All around them their friends and family smiled and laughed pleased to see the two of them so deeply in love.

A gasp from behind them made Kagome and Inuyasha separate and turn. Miroku was currently bent down on one knee, a velvet box held up in front of him. Sango's right hand was pressed to her mouth in shock while he held her left.

"I honestly don't know why you're surprised; everyone else knew I'd probably do this." Miroku teased her. "So, would ya?"

"Oh yeah that's romantic!" Inuyasha heckled.

"So says the man who yelled 'Finally' at the end of Love Story." Kagome said, rolling her eyes.

Sango laughed and nodded to Miroku who quickly slipped the ring on her finger. "You know this means you can't change your mind right?" He asked, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Hey, there's always the divorce option." Sango teased. "Miroku stop spinning me before I puke all over you."

The crowd laughed as Inuyasha slipped his hand into Kagome's and moved close to her ear. "Come with me."

Kagome gave him a weird look but nodded. After saying goodbye to their families and promising Sango and Miroku that they'd meet up with them later, Inuyasha and Kagome walked to his car.

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha didn't answer, but it didn't take Kagome long to figure out where they were headed. Inuyasha pulled up to the curb before climbing out of his car. Kagome sat, staring at the gates of the cemetery, briefly wondering why they were here. Inuyasha startled her by opening the door and holding his hand out to her. He waited patiently for her to undo her seat belt before she grabbed his hand.

Kagome felt a little silly to be wearing her graduation gown while walking in the cemetery. She allowed Inuyasha to lead her through the rows of tombstones before they came across a large stone dog, a grave that Kagome had never seen before. She found the statue to be hauntingly beautiful, yet strange. It was surrounded by stone angels and lambs, marking the dead as innocent and cherished.

Inuyasha knelt down and brushed some stray leaves off the marker in the ground. Over his shoulder Kagome read the inscription. _Keitsuyoi Tashio. Beloved mate, father and friend. You shall be forever missed my love._

"Hey dad." Inuyasha said softly as Kagome knelt next to him.

In all the years that they had been friends, Inuyasha had never once brought her to the place where his father's remains lay. A quick glance around let her know that her own father's grave wasn't to far from where they were knelt and she wondered why she had never noticed this grave before.

"Dad, I brought someone with me that I think you would have loved to meet." Inuyasha's voice broke through Kagome's thoughts. "This is Kagome; we met years ago when I was still a pup. She's been my best friend for years; it kind of amazes me that she's put up with me for so long.

"We're mates now pop. She's the best thing that ever happened to me. I feel so complete when she's with me." Inuyasha said, bringing a blush to Kagome's cheeks. "I love her pop; I just wanted you to meet her."

A soft breeze picked up and blew around the couple, mingling their hair in a beautiful combination of light and dark. "I think he's approving." Kagome said with a grin. "Why did you bring me here?"

Inuyasha heaved a heavy sigh; his head was down, shielding his eyes from Kagome's gaze. "Mom told me that you're going to America to study."

Kagome bit her lip and glared at the ground. She silently cursed her mother for telling Kohana her plan. "I wanted to be the one to tell you." Kagome hissed. "I was waiting until after graduation."

Inuyasha sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Why didn't you tell me right away?"

"Because, I found out just after we became mates, and I knew you'd do something stupid." Kagome told him.

"Stupid like what?"

"Like asking me if I want out of our bond."

Inuyasha gave her a startled look, biting his lip nervously. "Do you?"

"No you moron!" Kagome yelled, momentarily forgetting where they were.

"What do you want me to say then Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"Tell me to stay here." Kagome said sadly. "Tell me you forbid me to go and I'll stay here."

Inuyasha's jaw dropped in shock. He hadn't expected her to say anything, let alone that. He shook his head and pulled Kagome to him, holding her tightly against his body. Kagome's hand fisted in his graduation robe as her tears finally fell free. She had been stressing out over this for weeks, wanting to go to America for the excellent opportunity she'd have, but wanting to stay with Inuyasha.

"I can't ask you to give that up for me." Inuyasha said. "I waited 12 years for you; another few years won't kill me."

"But what if you find someone else?" Kagome asked so softly that he almost missed her words.

"Don't worry Kagome, I promise that won't happen."

They stayed in the cemetery holding onto each other desperately, as if hoping that if they held onto each other long enough they'd become one. A soft breeze continued to caress them as if Inuyasha's father sought to bring them some form of comfort of his own. After several long moments they made their way back to Inuyasha's car.

They didn't make it very far away from the cemetery before Inuyasha pulled the car over into an empty field. He climbed out and grabbed a blanket from his trunk, leading Kagome to a spot well away from the road. He spread the blanket out on the ground and proceeded to make love to her slowly, trying to ingrain every inch of her skin, every look, every feeling into his memory. He wanted to preserve the moment in his mind, to have something special to look back on when being separated from her became to much.

When they were finished they held each other tightly, basking in the after glow of their love making. Finally, as the sun started to set, they dressed and made their way to Miroku's house to celebrate Sango and Miroku's engagement.

The weeks that they had left together flew by like minutes, and they soon found themselves once again desperately clinging to each other, only this time at an airport. Kagome sobbed into Inuyasha's chest, while he stroked her hair and fought his own tears.

"I don't have to go; I can go to school here just as easily!" She sobbed.

Inuyasha shook his head and pushed her away slightly so he could look her in the eye. "No, you need this. We've been together practically everyday since we were six years old. This will give you a chance to be on your own and live your own life."

Kagome let out another sob and threw herself back against Inuyasha. "I don't want that though! I was so stupid to apply to an American school."

"Last call for passengers of flight 822 to New York." A voice announced over the speakers.

Inuyasha pulled away from Kagome and led her over to the gate. "Just think that you're only going to be gone for a few weeks, it'll make the time go by faster."

Kagome sniffled and wiped her tears away. "You're a bad liar." She told him. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Inuyasha smiled softly and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her cheeks, wiping away any traces of tears. "Don't worry about us. What we have, it's forever and nothing will ever change that."

Kagome nodded and pulled his head down to kiss him. When she finally pulled away she had fresh tears falling down her cheeks and saw his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She kissed him one last time before pulling away, taking a backward step towards the gate.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too."

Kagome bit her lip to keep in a heart wrenching sob. She finally turned and handed the girl at the counter her ticket before heading into the plane.

She settled herself into her seat and stared out the window towards the terminal, desperately searching for any sign of silver hair. "I've never seen someone so upset about going to New York."

Kagome turned to face the elderly woman who sat next to her. "It's the leaving part that's hard. I feel like I've left a piece of me behind."

The older lady smiled at her. "Don't worry child, I saw you and your boyfriend in the terminal. If you two are in love as much as I think you are, you'll be fine."

Kagome smiled at the woman and thanked her for her kind words. The older woman began to ask Kagome questions, hoping to get her mind off her breaking heart. Kagome told her what school she would be going to, her plans to study youth care and counselling, and all about Inuyasha. She didn't know why she was telling the old woman so much information, but it was soothing to have someone to confide in.

"I own a house that I rent out rooms to college students. It's a good 30 minutes from your school, but it will be quieter, and you can keep this old woman company." The woman told her. "How about you give up your dorm room and stay at my house, I still have several rooms open."

"That's so kind of you." Kagome said. "I don't even know your name and you're offering me so much."

"My name's Kaede."

Kagome smiled and took the woman's outstretched hand. "Kagome Tashio. You have a boarder Kaede."

Kaede smiled and put her seat back. "Get some sleep Kagome, you'll be starting your new life soon enough."


End file.
